The embarrassing IT security weak spot in the Swisscard system, which has since been fixed, was reported to the Rundschau programmeExternal link on Swiss public television, SRF, on Monday.
The information included the names of the travellers, their date of birth, the number of first- and second-class tickets purchased and the place of departure and destination.
The hacker told Rundschau that the recent attack required no specialist IT knowledge: “The sensitive data was practically public on the internet.”
The data was never made public and has been returned to Swiss Railways. The hacker said they had no criminal intent but merely wanted to expose the problem.
The Federal Data Protection Commissioner was informed of the security breach.
‘Potential for abuse’
“This is a huge meltdown for Swiss Railways,” Otto Hostettler, a journalist and author specialising in internet crime, told Rundschau. “Such data can be sold in hacker forums on the dark web. In the wrong hands it would have great potential for abuse.”
This has been demonstrated by hacks into Swiss municipal databases in recent months, including the towns of Montreux and Rolle in western Switzerland.
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
This content was published on
A committee of Switzerland’s House of Representatives has found the people’s initiative to limit fireworks too extreme, but has suggested a counter-proposal.
UN investigators report evidence of crimes in Syria and call for national dialogue
This content was published on
UN investigators in Geneva report ample evidence of crimes in Syria and urge the regime to follow through on its promise of a national dialogue.
Swiss Trade Union warns EU deal could threaten wages
This content was published on
The Swiss Trade Union Federation warns that the new bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the EU could threaten wage protection and public services.
Credit Suisse fines from Mozambique scandal to fund victims’ compensation
This content was published on
The fines imposed on Credit Suisse for the Mozambique scandal will be allocated to a fund for the victims, amounting to $105.5 million.
‘Confederation is a subsidy machine’: Swiss finance minister
This content was published on
The Swiss government is a machine for distributing subsidies to various actors in the country, says finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter.
Lack of funds ends third bid to salvage Säntis ship from Swiss lake
This content was published on
A third attempt to salvage the steamship Säntis, lying at the bottom of Lake Constance in Switzerland since 1933, has failed before it has even begun.
Nestlé Waters on trial in France over illegal waste dumps
This content was published on
Bottled water producer Nestlé Waters to stand trial, accused of illegally dumping waste and maintaining unauthorised dumps.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Hackers target the Swiss town of Montreux
This content was published on
Hackers have carried out a cyber attack against databases belonging to the Montreux authorities in southwestern Switzerland.
Successful hacking group targets Swiss towns, companies, hospitals
This content was published on
A group that hacked a Swiss town and posted datan on the Darknet has threatened to target other municipalities, companies or hospitals.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.