Advertisement

Swiss fear government data stolen in cyberattack

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Swiss fear government data stolen in cyberattack
Switzerland was hit by a cyber attack, government said. Image by Cliff Hang from Pixabay

Switzerland said Thursday that government operational data might have been stolen in a cyberattack on the technology firm that provides software for several departments.

Advertisement

 "Xplain, a Swiss provider of government software, has been the victim of a ransomware attack. After the stolen data had been encrypted and the company blackmailed, the attackers posted some of the stolen data on the darknet," the government said in a statement.

"Contrary to the initial findings and following recent in-depth clarifications... it appears that operational data of the federal administration could also be affected.

"In-depth analyses are still ongoing."

The Swiss army and the customs department are among the clients of Xplain, which supplies software to authorities specialising in homeland security.

The government said it did not believe that the Xplain systems have direct access to the federal administration systems.

 Xplain accused a ransomware group called Play of being behind the attack.

"We have not made any contact with the Play group and we will not pay a ransom," Xplain's director Andreas Loewinger told AFP on Saturday.

 Xplain has notified Switzerland's National Cybersecurity Centre and the Bern police.

As in other countries, cyberattacks targeting companies, governments and even universities are on the increase in Switzerland.

 Recently, two media outlets, CH Media and NZZ, were also targeted by Play.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also