Swiss hospitals join forces against cyber-attacks

Eighteen Swiss health groups, including cantonal and university hospitals, have founded a national cyber-security centre to act as an early warning system against cyber attacks.

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The cantonal hospital authorities of Ticino and Graubünden are among the founders of the Healthcare Cyber Security Centre (H-CSC).

The premise is that “hospitals are tempting targets for cybercriminals, since they handle large quantities of sensitive data,” said H-CSC as it was officially established in Thurgau.

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The initiative in Ticino was also joined by the Gruppo ospedaliero Moncucco, which brings together the Moncucco clinics in Lugano and Santa Chiara in Locarno, and a Graubünden foundation made up of health care associations, including the Thusis hospital.

Founding members also include the university hospitals of Basel, Bern and Zurich, but not in Geneva and Lausanne.

French-speaking institutions are clearly under-represented – the Fribourg and Valais hospitals are the only members from this region. But H-CSC is set to grow. “Membership of the association will be open from 1 September 2025 to all hospitals with a public service mandate”.

The H-CSC project was launched last year on the recommendation of the Federal Office for Cyber Security. The aim of the association is to offer tailor-made security services for hospitals in the field of cyber security.

The H-CSC will serve as a platform to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration between hospitals, expand existing competencies and create synergies that will “sustainably strengthen their ability to prevent, detect and contain cyber incidents”, the association’s website states.

Such incidents can “severely compromise the functioning (of hospitals), causing the postponement of surgeries, encryption and/or disclosure of sensitive patient data, or the inoperability of medical devices.”

Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga

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