Security concerns haunt Swiss government cloud data plans
Chinese technology company Alibaba was controversially one of the companies to be awarded a Swiss government cloud storage contract.
Keystone / Christian Charisius
Fresh criticism has been leveled at the inclusion of Chinese company Alibaba in a future cloud storage system for Swiss government data.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/mga
Español
es
Problemas de seguridad con el almacenamiento de datos del Gobierno suizo
The Tages Anzeiger newspaper has uncovered documents that detail the concerns of Swiss Data Protection Commissioner Adrian Lobsiger during the tender process.
Lobsiger has already voiced criticism in the media that some of his privacy concerns were not properly addressed by the government.
On Saturday, the Tages Anzeiger revealed documentsExternal link that detailed his recommendations before the contract was awarded.
Lobsiger had called for more stringent privacy requirements to be inked into the deals. These included a demand that centres be located either in Switzerland or a country with equivalent data protection rules.
The data watchdog also wanted contractors to submit to audits and regular check-ups to make sure their services complied with international standards.
Lobsiger is now calling for transparency when government departments thrash out deals with the five companies to store public data. “It must be clear to the public that everything is being implemented in compliance with data protection regulations,” he said.
The government told the newspaper that rigorous data protection assessments will be carried out by each department before choosing specific providers. It has always maintained that sensitive data will not be put into the cloud storage system.
The cloud storage deal has attracted a fair amount of criticism, not least because a Chinese company was included while Swiss operators were perceived to have been frozen out.
The media has also been critical of opaque communication from the government.
US tech giant Google went to the Swiss courts to challenge the decision to leave it out of the tender award, but soon dropped its legal appeal.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss oddities
Mennonite movement turns 500 in Zurich, where it all began
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
This content was published on
The Fête de l'Epouvantail (scarecrow festival) is celebrating its 30th anniversary and returns to Denens in canton Vaud for its seventh edition from July 10-20.
This content was published on
A 35-year-old man has died in a work accident at the valley station of the Heimwehfluh toboggan run in Matten near Interlaken, canton Bern.
This content was published on
The Swiss embassy in Tehran re-opened on Sunday after being closed on June 20 owing to the unstable situation in the country.
This content was published on
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and her youngest daughter Princess Ariane attended the Netherlands' women's European Championship football match against Wales in Switzerland on Saturday.
Swiss want to better protect military airfields from spying
This content was published on
Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister says he wants to better protect Swiss military airfields against espionage activities.
Man charged with flying drone at women’s Euro 2025
This content was published on
A man flew a drone around the venue on Wednesday evening during the first match of the Women's EURO 2025 in St. Gallen. The 30-year-old violated the absolute ban on flying during match days. He was reported to the police.
More than 250 Swiss companies sign CO2 reduction initiative
This content was published on
A total of 257 companies from Switzerland have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In doing so, they are committing to CO2 reduction targets that are compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Swiss accident prevention group sees federal targets at risk
This content was published on
The Swiss government's target for accident figures is at risk, reckons Mario Cavegn, member of the executive board of the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.
Feminicide: Swiss justice minister calls for electronic monitoring
This content was published on
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans has called for electronic monitoring and an ankle bracelet warning system for perpetrators of violence against women.
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
Google admits defeat in disputed Swiss cloud tender
This content was published on
Google drops appeal to being left out of a major Swiss cloud computing contract, conceding the field to five US and Chinese companies, including Microsoft and Alibaba.
Google challenges Swiss data cloud contract decision
This content was published on
Google has appealed a recent Swiss decision to award a cloud-computing contract to five other Internet service providers.
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.