Cybercrime Affects Three in Four Dutch People, SMEs Can Better Arm Themselves

Almost half of the Dutch people are not very concerned about digital security in their private lives. At the same time, in the past twelve months, nearly three-quarters of the Dutch have encountered attempts at cybercrime such as phishing and increasingly telephone helpdesk fraud. Still, 1 in 5 small SMEs take no measures at all. This is shown by Alert Online 2025, the annual study on cyber awareness commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Devices for daily use at home and in the office, industrial machines and processes, paying, shopping, doing business, and staying in touch: almost everything is now partially or completely digitally connected. Digital security is essential. This requires a sustained active attitude from Dutch companies, consumers, and the government. Investing in this is not a choice, but a must.

The number of smaller SMEs (<10 employees) that seem to take no measures has slightly decreased in 2024 to 20% of the population. The number of reports made of (attempts at) cybercrime remains very low (47% by employees, 53% by IT responsible persons). For example, because entrepreneurs claim to experience no damage or expect that it does not matter. The Digital Trust Center (DTC), part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, helps smaller SMEs improve their digital resilience through the subsidy My Cyber Resilient Business. This subsidy is currently open again, applications can be submitted until October 31, 2025.

Minister Vincent Karremans (Economic Affairs): “It is almost incomprehensible that too many people and companies still see online safety as an optional choice. Especially knowing that not only petty thieves are looking for personal data or money, but some foreign countries have offensive cyber programs to spy on and sabotage companies from small to large. More alertness and targeted measures from entrepreneurs and consumers, with support from the government, are therefore necessary for safe digital business.”

Use of Generative AI at Work

For the first time, research has been conducted on how Dutch people use generative artificial intelligence (AI) at work. This type of AI can automatically create new content such as text, images, and videos by learning from existing data. One in three employees (36%) says they are very familiar with generative AI, such as ChatGPT or text-generating AI models. A quarter of employees (26%) believes their organization has clear guidelines for using generative AI to manage potential risks (for example, in terms of data security). A quarter (23%) disagrees with this.

Read the full research here.

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Source last updated: 29 September 25

Published on Openrijk: 29 September 25

Source: Economische Zaken