Ransomware attacks on the rise in Switzerland
According to the Sunday newspaper Le Matin Dimanche, cyber attacks are increasing in Switzerland. 94 ransomware incidents were reported in the first half of the year.
This content was published on December 5, 2021 – 1:00 p.m.
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The source of that number is the Network That Supports Digital Crime Investigations (NEDIK), but the president of that network believes the problem is much bigger.
Serdar Günal Rütsche told Le Matin Dimanche that the number of cases has to be multiplied by 20 to get a realistic number. That would be almost 2,000 ransomware attacks in Switzerland this year.
In October, the Observer magazine estimated that 2,700 Swiss companies had fallen victim to the past year. That corresponds to a total of 4,800 attacks in the last five years.
While the Swiss authorities strongly advise against paying hackers, 30 to 50% of the hacked companies pay the required ransom in order to restore their data, Mathias Fuchs from Zug-based Infoguard told Le Matin Dimanche.
The phenomenon of cyber attacks began at the end of 2019. This year, several well-known companies and institutions were confronted with ransom demands from cyber criminals. Experts say the vast majority of these cases will not be reported to the authorities.
The coronavirus pandemic in Switzerland coincides with an increase in various types of cybercrime.
In September the government announced that it would step up defense measures against cyber attacks. This includes the creation of a command center with 575 members of the armed forces trained to protect government data, as well as critical infrastructure and private companies operating in areas such as telecommunications or transport.