Swiss police said, on Saturday, that they are investigating a cyber attack targeting the information company “Xplain”, which includes among its clients many departments of the federal administration and those related to the cantons, including the army.
Le Tan revealed this cyberattack, noting that “the cantonal police forces, the Swiss army or even the Federal Police Office (Fedpol) are indirectly affected.”
The army was informed a few days ago of the incident by the Swiss company “Explane”, which specializes in information technology solutions in the field of internal security.
“The civilian authorities have opened criminal proceedings over the hacking operation. The police are investigating,” an army spokesman told AFP.
He explained that the army has been using “a software solution from Expline for several years” and it is running “via the Union’s own servers.”
He added, “It must be clarified that the attack did not affect the army system. Based on the clarifications provided by the army so far, it is assumed that the incident did not result in data leakage from the army systems.”
Andreas Loefinger, director of Xpline, which is based in seven offices spread across Switzerland, Spain and Germany, told Lutheran newspaper that he sought help from the National Center for Cyber Security in the aftermath of the cyberattack.
“We will not be able to determine the exact timing of the attack and the extent of the data theft until the authorities release the information,” he added.
He denied the existence of any connection between the company and the pirates, stressing, “We will not pay a ransom!”
