SWITZERLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Hugh Reeves, Jürg Schneider and David Vasella, Walder Wyss Ltd
Current Trends and Challenges Cyberthreats are rapidly evolving, becoming ever more sophisticated and harder to detect. One ongoing but no less concerning trend is the increase of ransomware attacks, which have affected numerous companies and other organisations in Switzerland. Moreover, the Fed - eral Office for Cybersecurity (BACS) reported a significant increase in phishing cases. This high - lights the ongoing threat of phishing attacks, which often target individuals to gain access to sensitive information or systems. Recent attacks include an attempt to infiltrate the IT systems of SBB, Switzerland’s national railway, via email malware. This attack was partially successful, but no customer data was stolen. Another notable incident was a ransom attack on media companies, when a ransom - ware group breached the IT infrastructure of Neue Zürcher Zeitung and CH Media, two lead - ing media outlets, stealing confidential data and encrypted files and extorting the companies. No ransom was paid, apparently, but sensitive employee and customer data later surfaced on the dark web. A hacker attack on a guardian - ship authority in the town of Saxon was suc - cessful, with sensitive client information stolen and published, affecting some 6,000 residents. Other notable incidents include an attack on the sewing machine manufacturer Bernina, which, according to media reports, paid a ransom; an attack on an education network used by the city of Basel-Stadt, leading to the theft of personal data of more than 750 persons; and a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack during Ukrain - ian President Zelenskyy’s video address to the Swiss Parliament. Other attacks targeted the city of Baden and the Canton of Schwyz. The most widely publicised attack, however, was when a ransomware group attacked secu -
rity software provider Xplain, which supplies numerous Swiss government agencies. The attackers claimed to have stolen over 900 GB of sensitive data, including information linked to the Swiss Army, customs, and police. An inves - tigation report commissioned by the Confedera - tion was issued on 28 March 2024. Noting the joint responsibility of Xplain and the Confedera - tion in connection with this cyber-attack, the report pointed to the Confederation’s failure in its duties to select, instruct and supervise the personal data subcontractor, in this case the company Xplain. In particular, the investigation report showed that no data processing contract had been concluded between the relevant fed - eral administration units and Xplain. In an Xplain repeat, hackers hit Concevis, another major soft - ware vendor for the federal and cantonal govern - ments. These attacks illustrate that a key threat is the rise of sophisticated, hard-to-detect ransom - ware attacks, including on critical infrastructure providers, and that even advanced countries like Switzerland are vulnerable to potentially crip - pling cyber-attacks. Recent Regulatory Updates While the increase in reported attacks highlights the urgency of robust cybersecurity, the issue is hardly new. Switzerland has responded to these challenges in recent months and years by adapt - ing its cybersecurity framework on a number of levels. The revised FADP and Data Protection Ordinance The revised Swiss Data Protection Act (the Federal Act on Data Protection; FADP), which entered into force on 1 September 2023, intro - duced improved enforcement powers for the Swiss data protection authority, the Federal
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