Tests reveal 136 vulnerabilities in Covid certificate

If your name's not down on the certificate, you're not coming in. Scene at a nightclub in Lausanne in June. Keystone / Valentin Flauraud

Security tests on the Swiss Covid certificate have so far revealed 136 possible vulnerabilities, the government said on Thursday. This is normal, it added, given the extensive amount of programming code and infrastructures.

In a 16-page reportExternal link, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) gave an overview of the vulnerabilities reported up to last week. Several critical flaws were still being analysed and would not be published for the time being for security reasons, it said.

Some of the reported problems had already been fixed, the NCSC said. In some cases there was no need for action because the development was carried out according to “explicit national or European requirements”, or because a finding turned out to be a misinterpretation on the part of the reporting party.

Covid-19 certificates have been issued in Switzerland since June 7, 2021. They document a Covid-19 vaccination, a negative test result or if someone has had the virus. The certificate is issued in paper form or as a PDF document with a QR code. It contains, among other things, the person’s surname, first name and date of birth.

Anyone who wants to attend certain large events in Switzerland with more than 1,000 people or visit nightclubs and dance events must provide a certificate. People who are travelling can also show the certificates at entry controls in Switzerland or other countries.