Therefore,
Why municipalities do not protect:
Keystone / Str. Consequently,
One in two in Switzerland is not prepared for cyber attacks enough. However, The danger is underestimated. Meanwhile,
“It was a Wednesday morning,” recalls Daniel Bichsel, president of the Bernese commune of Zollikofen. In addition, We started the computers and we immediately noticed that something was wrong. Nevertheless, ” His municipal staff. Meanwhile, he could no longer connect to their individual accounts, no call made: the municipality of Zollikofen had been hacked. Meanwhile, why municipalities do not protect It was in November 2023. Moreover, At the time, cybersecurity was not yet a great priority for Zollikofen.
Today. one in two town is in the same situation as Zollikofen two years ago, namely insufficiently prepared for cyber attacks. This is what emerges from a large -scale survey. About a third of the Swiss municipalities have no overview of their digital inventory. do not know what they must protect.
The result of the survey did not surprise Manuela Surderegger. of the Federal Cybersecurity Office: “We know that the municipalities need to update themselves,” she notes. This is why the Confederation has been emphasizing the cybersecurity of the municipalities for three years. provides competent services and emergency concepts to the competent services. why municipalities do not protect Despite this, the situation only improves slowly.
Intimide cybersecurity
It is precisely for small municipalities that cybersecurity represents an important challenge in terms of time. skills, explains Alexander Sollberger of the Myni Gmeind association, which is committed to the digital transformation of the Swiss municipalities. “In a municipal administration of only a few people. there is little time to familiarize themselves with the theme of cybersecurity,” he said.
This is why he recommends that the municipalities unite in this area. However, it doesn’t always work. “Personal sensitivities play a big role here,” he notes. Some municipalities do not want to be dictated anything by the neighboring town. ” The trend in terms of collaboration between the municipalities is certainly stable, but it is not up.
Alexander Sollberger is convinced that the problem lies in the abstract character of the subject. “Unfortunately, good cybersecurity does not allow elections to be won,” why municipalities do not protect he explains. It is not something tangible for the population of the town. ” It is only when a bad system is hacked that people make the grimace. This is why many municipalities only place this theme at the top of their priority list after a cyber attack.
Cybersecurity has a cost
This was also the case in Zollikofen, where there was no cyber-urgence concept. “Today, we would of course be better prepared,” says the president of the town Daniel Bichsel. At the time. hackers had entered the municipal system via the messaging server, which would no longer be possible as easily today, because connection requirements have been reinforced.
In addition. according to Daniel Bichsel, the municipal administration is now regularly why municipalities do not protect taking hacking in order to detect possible gaps in time. In addition, all the staff must take courses and are made aware of the cyberrises.
Since hacking, Zollikofen has spent 18,000 francs each year for cybersecurity. But it is always much less than the costs generated by hacking himself. explains the president of the commune Daniel Bichsel. The town had then had to pay more than 130,000 francs to restore the systems and be able to regain work. No ransom was paid to the pirates, the attack was therefore not profitable for them.
Translated from German by Emilie Ridard using an automatic translation tool/PTUR
Why municipalities do not protect
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