Security News
The Swiss government has disclosed that a recent ransomware attack on an IT supplier might have impacted its data, while today, it warns that it is now targeted in DDoS attacks. Last Tuesday, the Swiss government disclosed that they were impacted by a ransomware attack on Xplain, a Swiss technology provider supplying various government departments, administrative units, and even the country's military force with software solutions.
A supposedly secure messaging app preferred by the Swiss government and army was infested with bugs - possibly for a long time - before an audit by ETH Zurich researchers. Threema downplayed the bugs in a blog post about the research.
Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov, also known as Tank and one of the leaders of the notorious JabberZeus cybercrime gang, was arrested in Geneva last month. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice said Penchukov was arrested last month and is waiting to be extradited to the United States, although he can still appeal FOJ's decision.
Somewhere between 73 and 81 percent of retail Bitcoin buyers are likely to have lost money on their investment, according to research published Monday by the Bank of International Settlements. The Switzerland-based bank for other central banks wanted to understand why retail investors continue to participate in cryptocurrency exchanges to trade tokens like Bitcoin.
As insurance companies struggle to stay afloat amid rising cyber claims, Swiss Re has recommended a public-private partnership insurance scheme with one option being a government-backed fund to help fill the coverage gap. Global cyber insurance premiums hit $10 billion in 2021, according to Swiss Re's estimates.
Andrew Appel has a long analysis of the Swiss online voting system. It’s a really good analysis of both the system and the official analyses.
The Swiss army has banned foreign instant-messaging apps such as Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp and requires army members to use the locally-developed Threema messaging app instead. As Threema is a paid subscription communications service, the Swiss army promised to cover the annual subscription cost for all soldiers, which is roughly $4.40 per user. The Swiss army has also posted recommendations on Facebook, characterizing Threema as a secure ad-free communication tool that features end-to-end encryption and leaves no digital trace.
Encrypted email provider Protonmail has hailed a recent Swiss legal ruling as a "Victory for privacy," after winning a lawsuit that sees it exempted from data retention laws in the mountainous realm. Referring to a previous ruling that exempted instant messaging services from data capture and storage laws, the Protonmail team said this week: "Together, these two rulings are a victory for privacy in Switzerland as many Swiss companies are now exempted from handing over certain user information in response to Swiss legal orders."
End-to-end encrypted email service provider ProtonMail has drawn criticism after it ceded to a legal request and shared the IP address of anti-gentrification activists with law enforcement authorities, leading to their arrests in France. The Switzerland-based company said it received a "Legally binding order from the Swiss Federal Department of Justice" related to a collective called Youth for Climate, which it was "Obligated to comply with," compelling it to handover the IP address and information related to the type of device used by the group to access the ProtonMail account.
Security specialist Armis has discovered vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed PwnedPiper, in pneumatic tube control systems used in thousands of hospitals worldwide - including 80 per cent of the major hospitals found in the US. The researcher spotted the PwnedPiper vulnerabilities in Swisslog's Nexus stations for its Translogic Pneumatic Tube System product - a connected control system for the delivery tubes which send medicines, samples, blood products, and paperwork whizzing around a hospital. "The PTS system supports variable speed transactions which, on the one hand allow for express shipment of urgent items," the researchers said, "While on the other, enable the slow transfer of sensitive items, such as blood products, that may be harmed if jolted too quickly within the tubes. If an attacker were to compromise the PTS system, he may alter the system's speed restrictions, which can in turn damage such sensitive items."