Ice dissolves iron faster than liquid water

Umea University

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When ice freezes and thaws repeatedly, chemical reactions are fuelled that can have significant impact on ecosystems. The photo was taken in Stordalen, Abisko.

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Credit: Jean-François Boily

Ice can dissolve iron minerals more effectively than liquid water, according to a new study from Umeå University. The discovery could help explain why many Arctic rivers are now turning rusty orange as permafrost thaws in a warming climate.

The study, recently published in the scientific journal PNAS, shows that ice at minus ten degrees Celsius releases more iron from common minerals than liquid water at four degrees Celsius. This challenges the long-held belief that frozen environments slow down chemical reactions.

“It may sound counterintuitive, but ice is not a passive frozen block,” says Jean-François Boily, Professor at Umeå University and co-author of the study. “Freezing creates microscopic pockets of liquid water between ice crystals. These act like chemical reactors, where compounds become concentrated and extremely acidic. This means they can react with iron minerals even at temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.”

To understand the process, the researchers studied goethite – a widespread iron oxide mineral – together with a naturally occurring organic acid, using advanced microscopy and experiments.

They discovered that repeated freeze-thaw cycles make iron dissolve more efficiently. As the ice freezes and thaws, organic compounds that were previously trapped in the ice are released, fuelling further chemical reactions. Salinity also plays a crucial role: fresh and brackish water increase dissolution, while seawater can suppress it.

The findings apply mainly to acidic environments, such as mine drainage sites, frozen dust in the atmosphere, acid sulfate soils along the Baltic Sea coast, or in any acidic frozen environment where iron minerals interact with organics. The next step is to find out if the same is true for all iron-bearing ice. This is what ongoing research in the Boily laboratory will soon reveal.

“As the climate warms, freeze-thaw cycles become more frequent,” says Angelo Pio Sebaaly, doctoral student and first author of the study. “Each cycle releases iron from soils and permafrost into the water. This can affect water quality and aquatic ecosystems across vast areas.”

The findings show that ice is not a passive storage medium, but an active player. As freezing and thawing increase in polar and mountain regions, for the impact on ecosystems. and the natural cycling of elements could be significant.

Arctic rivers are turning rusty orange as permafrost thaws.

Credit

Jean-François Boily

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2507588122 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Ice as a kinetic and mechanistic driver of oxalate-promoted iron oxyhydroxide dissolution

Porsche slows electric shift, prompting VW profit warning


By AFP
September 19, 2025


Final Masterpiece: The completed RWB 2006 Porsche Carrera S, a bold fusion of Nakai’s signature wide-body style and pure performance. Source: New York Auto Show (C) - with permission.

Sam Reeves

German sports car maker Porsche said Friday that it would dramatically slow its shift to electric vehicles amid weak demand, prompting parent company Volkswagen to warn of a multibillion-euro hit.

It was the latest turmoil for 10-brand VW, Europe’s biggest carmaker, which is struggling not only with a stuttering EV transition but also fierce competition in China and US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught.

“We’re realigning Porsche across the board,” said CEO Oliver Blume, as the carmaker announced plans that amounted to a major rollback of its EV ambitions.

“In doing so, we want to meet new market realities and changing customer demands.”

Volkswagen said the changes to the sports car maker’s EV plans and other charges would negatively impact the overall group’s operating results by 5.1 billion euros ($6 billion) in the 2025 financial year.

Among measures announced by Porsche was a delay in the introduction of some fully electric cars, and extending the life of some combustion engine and hybrid models.

A new SUV series — which was originally to be launched as fully electric — will now be exclusively offered as combustion engine and hybrid at market launch.

The maker of the 911 sports car cited the “significant slower growth of the demand for exclusive battery-electric vehicles” as a reason for making the changes.

The manufacturer had already announced last month that it was abandoning plans to mass-produce its own electric car batteries.



– Chinese competition –



As a result of the changes, Volkswagen also cut its forecast for operating profit margins — closely watched by investors — to a range of two to three percent for 2025, down from a previous forecast of four to five percent.

Porsche has long been struggling, in particular due to falling demand for its luxury models in the key Chinese market.

In February, it announced 1,900 job losses and has warned of more cost cuts ahead.

In a sign of how bad times are, Porsche is also due to drop out of Germany’s blue-chip DAX index on Monday after its shares tanked.

The wider VW group is in difficulty. It struck a deal with unions to cut 35,000 jobs by 2030 at its namesake VW brand in Germany as it seeks to reduce costs.

Trump’s tariffs have only added to VW’s headaches, with the group reporting a 3.1-billion-euro hit from the levies in the first half of the year.

China, long a key source of sales, has become a fierce battleground for the carmaker as it fights back against rising competition from local rivals like BYD.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as a host of German auto suppliers, have also been slashing costs as they struggle to keep up with a host of emerging rivals.

Invisible army of carers keeps the economy afloat, says tech entrepreneur


By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL SCIENCE
September 19, 2025


Care assistant attending to a patient. Image by Tim Sandle

This week, in the UK, Professional Care Workers’ Week is running (September 12-19, 2025). The event is designed to mark the often unnoticed contribution from professional care workers. This is a sector confronted by low pay, funding issues and high vacancy rates.

The event features a series of in person events and free virtual panels and information sessions led by care workers and with care managers, and influential figures from across the sector.

Care workers need more respect and attention for the vital role they play in society, says the CEO of a global tech company in correspondence sent to Digital Journal.

Josh Hough, founder of Slinfold-based homecare software company CareLineLive, says Professional Care Workers’ Week is the perfect time to reflect on our attitude towards this critically important group of people.

Hough was born with the rare muscle weakening condition Minicore Myopathy and spent much of his early life in a wheelchair. He set up CareLineLive in 2014 after his family struggled to get information about his grandfather’s care.

Hough explains, in relation to the Care Workers’ Week: “We must go beyond praising our care workers and focus on real support – starting with digital training and modern tools to ease pressure on exhausted care teams.

“None of us can go to work or run businesses unless we are safe in the knowledge that our families are being looked after.”

Hough goes on to explain that care workers are effectively an “invisible army” doing vital but largely unappreciated work.

“Care workers don’t get the respect or attention they deserve. They are this invisible army, working behind the scenes but keeping the economy afloat by looking after families.”

Figures from the insurance broker PolicyBee suggest that about 820,000 people in the UK receive care at home. Hough says this makes home care a key economic issue.

Following this, Hough observes: “These are huge numbers of people and without carers many of us wouldn’t be able to go to work as we’d be needed at home. So we all benefit from home care this work, either directly or indirectly, and we certainly notice when it isn’t available.”

Hough has thrown his company’s full support behind Professional Care Workers’ Week and the ‘Wear it Orange’ campaign which has been created by the Care Workers Charity. With more than 152,000 vacancies in adult social care, Hough says we need to do more to elevate the status of care workers.

“We should recognise it as a profession and focus on improving skills and professionalism in the sector. As a child, I personally received a lot of care and more recently other family members have too,” adds Hough.

He concludes stating: “So we are very proud to partner with the Care Workers Charity and myself and the team will be proudly wearing it orange.”

Australia telco outage leaves three dead


By AFP
September 20, 2025


An outlet for the Australian communications company Optus in Sydney. Optus chief executive Stephen Rue said an outage that prevented calls to emergency services and led to three deaths was "absolutely tragic" - Copyright AFP David GRAY

The Australian government said Saturday that telco firm Optus “let Australians down” after three people died during a network outage that prevented calls to emergency services.

The outage impacted 600 people across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory shortly after midnight on Thursday evening for 13 hours.

Authorities said they were not informed of the incident or deaths until late Friday.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said Saturday the telco company had “let Australians down when they needed them the most and this isn’t good enough”.

“Optus and all telecommunications providers have obligations under Australian law to ensure that they enable emergency services’ calls.”

Wells added it was “not good enough” that Optus did not appear to know enough about why the failure occurred and why alarms did not go off 24 hours after the outage.

Wells said an investigation by the communications watchdog was underway.

– ‘Absolutely tragic’ –

South Australian Police said the deaths of an eight-week-old boy and a 68-year-old woman were linked to the outage.

The third death occurred in Western Australia, local media reported.

Optus chief executive Stephen Rue said the outage occurred during a regular firewall update.

“Initial testing and monitoring did not indicate there were any issues with calls connecting,” he said Saturday.

“There were no alarms to alert us that some emergency calls were not making it through.”

Optus was made aware of the outage shortly after midday on Friday and stopped the upgrade, restoring calls to emergency services.

He said the three deaths were “absolutely tragic”.

Rue added welfare checks had been carried out on all impacted customers and he was not aware of any further deaths.

Optus will conduct an independent investigation into the matter.

The telco could face fines and other legal penalties.

Optus was previously fined Aus$12 million after an outage halted its mobile and internet systems for nearly 12 hours in 2023.

Bumper harvest falls flat for Italy’s Asti vineyards


By AFP
September 20, 2025


'We'll see in 2026 if the wars end and the markets recover,' says Stefano Ricagno at his Ca' dei Mandorli estate - Copyright AFP Fabrice COFFRINI

Taimaz SZIRNIKS

The storied Asti region of northern Italy saw a lush harvest this year but many winegrowers are leaving some grapes on the vine, choosing to produce less as US and Russian demand drops.

After two difficult years, 2025 has been a good one and Italy is expected to once again beat rival France as the world’s leading producer.

But Paolo Castelletti, secretary general of the Union of Italian Wine, said it was not exactly something to celebrate.

“There is a decline in wine consumption especially in the main market, North America,” he told AFP.

“The market was supported by boomers… now they’re reducing their consumption,” he said.

US President Donald Trump’s new tariffs also make imports more expensive and could push Italian wines above the “psychological threshold” of $20 a bottle, he said.

That hit comes on the back of a decline in demand in Russia, where Asti wines were particularly popular, since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Around 17 million bottles were sold there in 2023, falling to 12 million last year, with this year’s sales expected at 10 million.

In total, export demand for Italian wines slowed by four percent in the first five months of 2025.

Some vineyards in France have decided to uproot vines to adapt, and the European Commission is pushing in this direction.

But Castelletti said this should be a “last resort” and supports leaving grapes on the vine, or blocking authorisation for new plantings.

– Hot summer –

Leaving grapes is what some winegrowers are doing in Asti to produce less sparking white.

They plan to reduce production of white Muscat from 10 to nine tonnes per hectare of vines this year.

At his Ca’ dei Mandorli (House of Almond Trees) estate, an expanse of seemingly endless vineyards, Stefano Ricagno assessed his first juices as Indian harvesters made the final cuts on the vines.

They are leaving some grapes, but in reality, the summer heat has reduced production anyway.

“We thought we’d produce a lot, but it was very hot. The Muscat harvest is almost in line with our [lowered] targets,” Ricagno told AFP.

The latest in a long line of winegrowers here, the 46-year-old presides over the “Asti” Designation of Origin, which covers nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of hills listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Asti has made a name for itself with low-alcohol golden sparkling wines, generally around seven percent for “Asti” and five percent for “Moscato,” almost all of which are sold in the United States.

Sales of the “Asti” Designation of Origin fell from 100 million bottles in 2023 to 90 million last year, and are expected to fall to 85 million this year, and winegrowers are seeing their inventories increase.

“We’ll see in 2026 if the wars end and the markets recover,” Ricagno said.

Other Italian appellations, such as Valpolicella in Veneto, have also reduced volumes this year because of market uncertainties.

But some want nothing to do with quotas — or appellations.

A few kilometres from Asti, in Nizza Monferrato, Francesco Pozzobon, 35, has taken over abandoned vines and is letting them grow without pesticides, sowing clover and broad beans between the rows.

“We’ve overproduced and underproduced,” Pozzobon said. “With the drop in demand, there will be a natural skimming.”

The yield at his Tenuta Foresto is much more irregular and lower than that of his neighbours, at three tonnes per hectare, but he commands high prices for his “artisanal” wines, even as far away as China.

Tariff uncertainty delays World Cup orders for China’s merch makers

By AFP
September 19, 2025


Tariff fears are hurting World Cup merchandise orders at Shang Yabing's Chinese knitwear factory, where racks of scarves bear the logos of national teams from Ireland to Tanzania - Copyright AFP Jade GAO

Jing Xuan TENG and Rita QIAN

Tariff fears are hurting World Cup merchandise orders at Shang Yabing’s Chinese knitwear factory, where racks of scarves bear the logos of national teams from Ireland to Tanzania.

Manufacturers in China’s export hub Yiwu would normally already be inundated with World Cup orders ahead of next summer’s football tournament, this time hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

But a rollercoaster ride of a trade war between Washington and Beijing is making international buyers think twice before placing orders with companies like Shang’s Yiwu Wells Knitting Product.

When AFP visited his bustling workrooms, Shang was overseeing rows of colleagues adding the finishing touches to a plethora of sports-themed accessories.

“We’ve been in this industry for over 10 years, and we’ve produced World Cup-related merchandise for nearly every tournament in that time,” Shang said.

“This year, we’ve secured some smaller orders, but the larger ones that were on hold before haven’t materialised yet… this is likely because of the US tariffs,” he added.

At the factory on Thursday, crates overflowing with colourful wares surrounded employees’ workstations.

Some workers used sewing machines to attach fringe trims to the ends of scarves, while another ironed green and yellow lengths of fabric emblazoned with the word “Australian”.

China and the United States have extended a temporary truce, staving off triple-digit tariffs on each other’s goods until November, but the two sides continue to spar over semiconductors and TikTok.

With a little under nine months to go before the World Cup, Shang said the company was still waiting for clients to approve substantial orders amounting to around a million pieces.



– ‘Lack of clarity’ –



Along the fluorescent-lit hallways of Yiwu’s sprawling International Trade City, one of the world’s largest wholesale markets, stores offering soccer balls and flags were relatively quiet compared to the rush of foreign buyers the sales hub sees during peak periods.

Vendors displayed everything from flag-printed sunglasses to miniature football cleats hanging on keychains.

“By this point before the last World Cup, we saw a huge influx of orders,” Daisy Dai, a seller of printed soccer balls, told AFP.

This year, she said, “customers are holding back”.

American buyers previously made up a large part of Dai’s clientele but “since the start of the trade war a number of large brands stopped ordering, because of a lack of clarity on tariffs”.

Zhou Yanjuan, a seller of flags and World Cup-themed souvenirs, told AFP that shipments abroad had slowed for her.

“We’re not selling necessities after all,” Zhou said.

Still, she was optimistic that “things will gradually improve going forward”.

“Everyone’s probably waiting for (tariffs) to be adjusted downward,” Zhou said.

“That could make things a little easier for us.”

Floating wind power sets sail in Japan’s energy shift


By AFP
September 20, 2025


Floating turbines are particularly well suited to Japan as its deep coastal waters make fixing them to seabeds tricky - Copyright AFP Philip FONG

Mathias CENA

Close to a small fishing port in southwestern Japan, the slim white turbines of the country’s first commercial-scale floating wind farm glimmer offshore, months before a key project in Tokyo’s green-energy strategy begins.

Still heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels, Japan has declared offshore wind energy a “trump card” in its drive to make renewables its top power source by 2040, and reach carbon neutrality a decade later.

That’s despite rising project costs and fears over inadequate infrastructure to produce turbines en masse.

Floating turbines are particularly well suited to Japan as its deep coastal waters make fixing them to seabeds tricky, while the country is also prone to natural disasters.

“Floating structures are relatively stable even in the case of earthquakes or typhoons,” said Kei Ushigami, head of marine renewable energy for construction company Toda, a key player in the project.

The eight turbines — sitting five kilometres (three miles) off the coast of the Goto Islands in waters up to 140 metres deep — will officially start turning in January.

It’s hoped they’ll aid the archipelago in reaching ambitious new targets laid out this year that should see wind’s contribution to the energy mix soar to between four and eight percent by 2040 — up from around one percent today.

But it’s a long, hard road ahead for resource-scarce Japan — the world’s fifth-largest carbon dioxide emitter — to wean itself off fossil fuels.

In 2024, 65 percent of its electricity needs were met by coal and hydrocarbon-powered thermal plants, while just over a quarter came from renewables, according to Japan’s Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies.



– Herculean task –



Costs are also rising sharply, and at the end of August Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi pulled out of three key wind power projects deemed no longer profitable.

Other project operators have asked for better support from the government.

“It is important for the government to address shortcomings in the current bidding system, which failed to anticipate rapid global inflation after bids were awarded,” said Yoko Mulholland from the think tank E3G.

The streamlining of regulatory processes and easing construction restrictions would “shorten lead times and also lower capital expenditure”, she told AFP.

Hidenori Yonekura, from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, sees the nascent floating wind energy as a path to eventually lower costs, by installing more turbines in Japan’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone of 4.5 million square kilometres.

The task, however, appears Herculean: to meet the 2040 wind target, around 200 15-megawatt turbines a year need to go up.

But “the infrastructure is not yet in place”, warned Yonekura. “Japan lacks turbine manufacturers and large production sites.”



– Fishers’ livelihoods –



Construction companies also face technical challenges with these still-novel systems: defects discovered in the floating structure of a wind turbine at Goto meant Toda had to make replacements, delaying the project by two years.

Coexistence with local industries, especially fishing, is also crucial.

Toda said it had conducted an environmental assessment and found a pilot project had “no negative impact on fish”.

Fishermen also receive part of the revenue from electricity sales and some of the property taxes generated by the project, while some have been hired to monitor the construction site with their vessels.

But according to Takuya Eashiro, head of the Fukue fishing cooperative in Goto, the wind project was imposed “from the top” and presented as “a done deal”.

Nevertheless, “fishermen understand the importance of such a project for Japan”, he said.

The National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations protested to the government after Mitsubishi withdrew, reminding them that fishermen had worked with these projects, hoping for positive economic impacts.

As fishing becomes less viable owing to warming sea temperatures, “some hope their children or grandchildren will find jobs in wind turbine maintenance”, said Eashiro.

Ethylene oxide and medical devices: Trump reverses EPA releases decision

ByDr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL
September 20, 2025


A team of surgeons transplanting a pig kidney into a brain dead patient, part of a growing field of research aimed at advancing cross-species transplants and closing the organ donor gap - Copyright NYU Langone Health/AFP Joe Carrotta

Most medical devices need to ‘sterile’ and the main mechanisms for doing so are the use of ethylene oxide or a type of irradiation (gamma, electron beam, or X-ray). For many years there have been concerns about ethylene oxide (not least since the residues, if present, act as a mutagen).

While moves were in place to reduce ethylene oxide use, the U.S. government has reversed a policy that was driving this reduction forwards.

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order granting a two-year extension for medical device sterilization facilities to comply with the new limits for ethylene oxide (EtO). This decision impacts 39 specifically named facilities and reflects the governmental position that required emissions-control technology is not commercially viable.

Mutagens are agents that can induce mutations in DNA, leading to genetic alterations. This can include triggering cancer.

EtO is a dangerous chemical, with mutagenic properties. Throughout Europe its use has declined, primarily driven by regulatory requirements. Inhalation of ethylene oxide can cause irritation of the eyes and nose, coughing, burning sensation in the mouth and breathlessness. In severe cases lung damage can occur. Ethylene oxide can be absorbed into the body via inhalation or skin contact causing headache, stomach upset, fitting, coma and heart problems.

The use of EtO as a sterilant has also been questioned in terms of its suitability. The UK medicines regulator, the MHRA has long expressed concerns about residuals posing a risk to human health. Other forms of sterilisation, such as gamma radiation, are preferred.

Such factors make the U.S. move surprising. Ethylene oxide is a regulated substance, and its use in medical devices is governed by international standards like ISO 10993-7 and ISO 11135, which set limits for residual EtO levels and the EPA’s decision is aligned with these international standards.

The Trump order extends compliance deadlines for facilities listed I by two years beyond the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule’s original requirements. During the extension period, these facilities will remain subject to the emissions and compliance obligations that were in effect before the EPA’s EtO rule, as The FDA Group reports.

For the past year or so, medical device trade groups have been lobbying the government, warning about potential supply chain disruptions and implementation challenges. Sauch groups have logistical and economic motivations for doing so.

The order invokes section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act, which provides backstop authority allowing the President to grant compliance exemptions under specific circumstances. The executive order cites two specific determinations:  “The technology to implement the EtO Rule is not available. Such technology does not exist in a commercially viable form sufficient to allow implementation of and compliance with the EtO Rule by the compliance dates.”

The exemption is “in the national security interests of the United States.”

It was back in March 2024 that the Environmental Protection Agency issued ‘a final rule’ updating National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for commercial sterilization facilities. The rule was designed to reduce EtO emissions by more than 90% through installation of air pollution controls.

The EPA rule affects nearly 90 commercial sterilizer facilities operated by approximately 50 companies throughout the U.S. This set out new rules for building leaks, chamber exhaust vents, and requires continuous emissions monitoring.

The proclamation emphasizes that about 50% of all sterile medical devices in the United States are sterilized with ethylene oxide, and sterilization with EtO may be the only method of sterilizing many medical devices without damaging them

Banking IT fraud in the UK caused £417 million in losses in the past year


By Dr. Tim Sandle

SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL
September 21, 2025


There are concerns about the banking sector, and the impact of that turmoil on the global economy - Copyright AFP/File Richard A. Brooks

AI-driven banking scams continue to make headlines across the UK, as captured in a recent report that sheds light on the frequency and severity of banking fraud.

To pinpoint the regions in the UK most affected by banking fraud and identify where losses are highest among different victim profiles, the firm BestBrokers has examined police-recorded data across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland for the period from 14 July 2024 to 14 July 2025. The findings have been shared with Digital Journal.

The research covers reported individual rather than corporate cases, total financial losses, losses per 1,000 residents, and victim demographics by age and gender.

Data shows that the 21,392 reported cases of banking fraud over the past year led to £417.4 million in losses, exceeded only by investment fraud (£2.2 billion) and consumer fraud (£505.9 million).

Furthermore, banking fraud in the UK caused £417.4 million in losses across 21,392 reported cases over the past year, making it the third costliest fraud type. Only investment fraud (£2.2 billion across 26,141 cases) and consumer fraud (£505.9 million from 102,915 cases) resulted in greater total losses, despite consumer fraud occurring nearly five times as often.

UK police forces with the most banking fraud victims

1. Metropolitan Police: 3,206 reports, £19.2 million in losses
2. Greater Manchester: 1,081 reports, £3.3 million in losses
3. West Midlands: 959 reports, £3.9 million in losses
4. West Yorkshire: 859 reports, £2.3 million in losses
5. Thames Valley: 747 reports, £2.5 million in losses
6. Hertfordshire: 560 reports, £1.4 million in losses
7. Essex: 511 reports, £1.6 million in losses
8. Kent: 501 reports, £2.2 million in losses
9. Lincolnshire: 492 reports, £1.4 million in losses

In terms of the above list, the Metropolitan Police (Greater London) recorded the highest number of banking fraud cases (3,206) and the largest total losses at £19.2 million, more than any other named police force. Greater Manchester and West Midlands each exceeded £3 million in losses, while Hampshire reported £2.8 million.

The City of London Police recorded the highest losses per capita at £12,667 per 1,000 residents. However, this figure is based on only 6 cases and reflects a statistical outlier due to the area’s very small resident population of just 8,700.

Police Scotland, PSNI (Northern Ireland), and the Isle of Man all reported comparatively low numbers of banking fraud cases relative to their populations: 254 reports for Scotland (5.48 million people), 320 for Northern Ireland (1.9 million), and just 4 for the Isle of Man (85,000). This could indicate either genuinely fewer incidents per capita or a higher rate of underreporting in these regions compared to the rest of the UK.

Outside of the primary police forces listed, £345 million in losses were reported under an ‘unknown’ category for region or police force, nearly five times the combined total of all named forces. This suggests that many victims either could not or chose not to report their location.

In terms of the types of issues, between 14 July 2024 and 14 July 2025, the vast majority of banking fraud in the UK (18,359 cases) involved cheque, plastic card, and online bank account fraud (excluding payment service providers), underscoring ongoing risks in everyday banking.

These common fraud types continue to challenge both consumers and financial institutions alike, reflecting evolving tactics by criminals. Mandate fraud, which manipulates payment instructions, accounted for 1,496 cases, while application fraud (excluding mortgages) totalled 1,358 incidents. Less common but still significant were counterfeit cashier’s cheques (122), mortgage-related fraud (36), and dishonestly retaining wrongful credits (21).

These data highlights the most prevalent fraud types and signals where prevention efforts should be intensified to better protect vulnerable customers

Costs of Russian, Chinese cyberattacks on German firms on rise: report


By AFP
September 18, 2025


Maintaining cybersecurity is important, whatever the function and wherever you work. — Image by © Tim Sandle.

Cyberattacks and sabotage, mainly from Russia and China, have caused record damages for German firms this year, the domestic spy service and a business group warned Thursday.

The costs of such attacks topped 289 billion euros ($342 billion) in 2025, up eight percent on last year, said the corporate survey on attacks such as data theft, industrial espionage and sabotage.

“Increasingly the trail leads to Russia and China,” said the report presented by the BfV domestic intelligence agency and the Bitkom federation of digital businesses.

“Foreign intelligence agencies are increasingly targeting the German economy,” BfV vice president Sinan Selen told a press conference.

Selen — who is set to soon take over at the helm of the BfV — said hostile foreign intelligence agencies were “becoming more professional, aggressive and agile”.

He said Chinese attacks are primarily “economic espionage” to gain technological advantages, while Russia’s consist mainly of “sabotage” and spreading “disinformation”.

Selen said state actors had been identified as being behind the attacks by 28 percent of the businesses concerned, as opposed to 20 percent last year.

Speaking alongside Selen, Bitkom president Ralf Wintergerst said attacks saw a “disproportionate rise when compared to German economic growth”, which has been flatlining since 2023.

Out of the 1,002 businesses surveyed for the report, 87 percent said they had been targeted by such an attack, compared to 81 percent the year before.

While last year 39 percent of firms said they had been targeted by Russia, this year that number rose to 46 percent, with the same number reporting an attack from China.

The most effective method remained cyberattacks, often carried out with “ransomware”, the overall cost of which has reached a new record high of 202 billion euros.

Selen gave the example of Kremlin-affiliated hackers known as Laundry Bear or Void Blizzard, which act against German political and economic targets.

Bitkom advised companies to devote 20 percent of their IT budgets to defending against these attacks.

Selen said he was “very happy” that Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government was “accentuating and strengthening” the role of the intelligence community in this area.