Swiss government websites were hit by a targeted cyberattack on Wednesday, led by a group known as ‘NoName,’ with ties to Russia. This orchestrated attack, brought to light by Switzerland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), temporarily disrupted access to several Swiss websites, including those associated with the Swiss Federal Administration.
The group claimed their actions were in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, adding a geopolitical dimension to the attack.
Cyberattack on Swiss government Websites
The NCSC quickly identified the DDoS attack, and specialists from the Federal Administration took immediate measures to restore access to the affected websites.
Importantly, the cyberattack on Swiss government websites did not compromise or result in the loss of any data. DDoS attacks primarily aim to render websites temporarily unavailable by inundating them with an overwhelming volume of requests.
On Wednesday, several federal administration websites, including those associated with federal departments and offices, experienced temporary unavailability due to the DDoS attack. Notably, the Swiss government portal remained operational despite the DDoS attack.
This incident marks the second time the ‘NoName’ hacker group has targeted the Swiss Federal Administration, following a similar DDoS attack in June 2023. In both instances, the group cited President Zelensky’s involvement in the WEF Annual Meeting as a catalyst for their cyber operations.
In December 2023, the NoName threat group once again asserted responsibility for a cyberattack that targeted various government and official departments. The claimed targets encompassed prominent entities such as the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police, the Swiss railway company Südostbahn, and the Federal Department of Home Affairs, among others.
Consequently, several departmental websites were rendered inactive during the cyber onslaught.
Global Collaboration: NCSC’s Partnerships
The NCSC, collaborating with relevant administrative units, actively analyzes the risk associated with such cyber threats and provides support in implementing necessary security measures.
Acknowledging the potential for an attack in the lead-up to President Zelensky’s visit, the NCSC issued a warning on January 10, advising operators of critical infrastructures to enhance their security protocols. The Federal Administration heeded this caution, adopting appropriate security arrangements.
The NCSC maintains close ties with national and international partners, collaborating closely with critical infrastructure operators to enhance cyber resilience.
“Hackers generally use such attacks on website availability as a means of gaining media attention for their cause. They do this by flooding a website with a massive volume of requests so as to overload it and make it unavailable for a period of time.” reads the NCSC statement.
