Data protection officer warns Swiss authorities over US cloud risks

Blonski warns that by using these services, authorities risk losing control of sensitive information. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Dominika Blonski, Zurich’s data protection officer, has warned Swiss authorities about the risks of relying on US IT services such as Microsoft and Amazon. Under US law, officials have been able to access certain stored data since 2018, including Swiss tax records.

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An increasing number of Swiss cantons and local councils are turning to US tech firms like Microsoft and Amazon for IT services, but many fail to properly assess the data protection risks, warns Blonski.

Initially, Swiss local authorities were wary of using these US-based IT services, but that caution has faded in recent years, says Blonski.

She says many institutions now use these services without comprehensive checks: “We’re seeing more and more organisations, at both cantonal and local level, using these products, often without giving it much thought beforehand.”

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Microsoft software is already in use in cantons such as Zurich, Bern and Aargau. Basel has recently signed up, while Lucerne is still debating the move. Many local councils have also adopted these services. For non-sensitive data like names and addresses, this does not pose a problem, says Blonski. But for more sensitive data, it does, as foreign providers cannot guarantee protection.

Blonski warns that by using these services, authorities risk losing control of sensitive information. Those affected often have no idea their data has been accessed, leaving them with no way to defend themselves.

Regarding the safe use of US cloud services, she says: “If cantons and councils want to go down that route, they can encrypt sensitive data themselves first. But ideally, those files should be stored somewhere more secure.”

Translated from German with DeepL/sp

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