A recent study shows that one in twenty people in Switzerland is affected by cyber attacks. Both companies and private individuals need to strengthen their security measures.
A recently published study on cyber security in Switzerland reveals alarming figures: Four percent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and IT service providers and five percent of the population have been victims of cyberattacks in the last three years. These results come from the Cyber Study 2024, which was published on Wednesday.
Extrapolated to the whole of Switzerland, this means that around 24,000 companies are affected. According to a press release from Yougov, the research institute that conducted the study, 73% of the companies affected suffered significant financial losses.
Underestimated risks for companies
While 68% of IT service providers rate the risk of a cyberattack as high or very high, more than half of SMEs consider the risk of a serious attack to be low. This deceptive sense of security could have serious consequences for companies if measures are not taken quickly. Of particular concern is that four out of ten companies have no contingency plan or business continuity strategy in place in the event of a serious cyberattack.
Need for optimization among the population
There is also a need for action among the general public in terms of cyber security awareness. Around half of those surveyed consider the cyber security of their household to be high. Nevertheless, over a third of respondents frequently use the same password for different services and many do not carry out updates promptly.
The study is based on 2174 online interviews and was conducted on behalf of Digitalswitzerland, the Mobiliar insurance company, the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Swiss Digital Security Alliance and the Swiss Internet Security Alliance.
SDA
