Switzerland's cybersecurity defenses come up short in a new ranking. The Swiss government recently beefed up resources dramatically.
The alpine nation ranks 19th on threats to its cybersecurity in a list of the world's 50 most populous nations compiled by NordVPN, a virtual private network provider. Switzerland scored 5.97 index points – just under the 6-point level the index terms «high risk».
Iceland ranked as most at-risk in the index, because of high internet penetration, high monthly wages, urban population, and other factors including tourism, e-commerce, and public wifi density. Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, and the U.S. round out the top five.
India ranks as the safest on the index: only every third person uses the internet, less than one-quarter of its population use smartphones, and just one third live in cities.
Boosting Resources
The Swiss government dramatically ramped up its cyber defenses in the last 18 months. The move followed its pinpointing of cyber risk as a major threat in 2017, which was underlined by a crypto scandal earlier this year. Switzerland was attested a «high commitment» to the topic in 2018's global cybersecurity index, the most recent available.
Swiss banks and insurers, which also increasingly have cybersecurity and insuring against hacks on their minds, have poured millions into beefing up their defenses against risk from inside – whistleblowers – or outside, in the form of a cyberattack. Switzerland is fertile ground for cyber protection services because of its tradition of secrecy and privacy.
