Easy procedures lead to rise in reported cyberattacks

Keystone/Z1020/_martin Schutt

Switzerland’s competence centre for cybersecurity says attacks on computer systems more than doubled last year compared with 2020.

The sharp increase to 21,712 cases from 10,833 might be due to simplified reporting procedures, the National Cyber Security CentreExternal link (NCSC) said.

“Many of the reported cases were attempted attacks, rather than successful attacks,” it said in its latest report.

The NCSC added that it assumed the real number of attacks was “substantially” bigger as there is no reporting obligation in Switzerland.

In its semi-annual report published on Thursday, most reported cases concerned different types of fraud, notably emails supposedly sent by law enforcement agencies.

Other forms of fraud include payments, investment and classified ads.

In the period under review, the number of attacks with encryption Trojans, so-called ransomware also increased, often involving double extortion to threaten the victims.

Alleged parcel notifications or delivery problems have also been used in many cases of phishing during the Covid-19 pandemic, the NCSC said.

The report points out that perpetrators often send text messages or emails to their victims.