The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Switzerland hit by widespread malware campaign

Hacker
The aim of such attacks is usually to force organisations to cease operations or to extort ransom money Keystone / Sascha Steinbach

Several security bodies in Switzerland have been targeted by emails that appear to come from official organisations such as banks or the police and contain a password for a zip file. When this file is opened, the computer becomes infected with a trojan called Emotet.

The Bern cantonal police force is one institution that has been affected, the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders of Switzerland said on Wednesday.

The aim of such attacks is usually to force organisations to cease operations or to extort ransom money.

Many of these emails are real emails that have fallen into the hands of the fraudsters and are now being resent by them, Zurich Cantonal Police warnedExternal link on Wednesday.

The malware – software designed to damage a computer or server – has been targeting organisations since Tuesday.

The police said that anyone who receives such an email should mark it as spam. The zip file must not be opened. Anyone who has already fallen for the scam must disconnect their computer from the network and switch it off. The network administrator should also be informed and the computer completely rebooted.

More

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

The start of the holiday season means long traffic jams on the Gotthard

More

Gotthard traffic queue hits 11km at start of holiday season

This content was published on The start of the summer holidays saw a long traffic jam in front of the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday. Traffic jams between Erstfeld and Göschenen in canton Uri were up to 11 kilometres long early in the morning.

Read more: Gotthard traffic queue hits 11km at start of holiday season
Study: Rhine could become up to 4.2 degrees warmer by 2100

More

Rhine could warm by 4°C by 2100, scientists warn

This content was published on The water temperature of the Rhine River could rise by up to 4.2° degrees Celsius by the end of the century due to the warming planet, scientists warn.

Read more: Rhine could warm by 4°C by 2100, scientists warn
'Leopard 1 A5' combat tanks in Germany.

More

Switzerland eyes joining EU rearmament programme

This content was published on The Federal Council wants to explore the possibilities of joining the European Union’s €800-billion rearmament programme without compromising Swiss neutrality.

Read more: Switzerland eyes joining EU rearmament programme
Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day

More

Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day

This content was published on On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.

Read more: Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR