The embarrassing IT security weak spot in the Swisscard system, which has since been fixed, was reported to the Rundschau programmeExternal link on Swiss public television, SRF, on Monday.
The information included the names of the travellers, their date of birth, the number of first- and second-class tickets purchased and the place of departure and destination.
The hacker told Rundschau that the recent attack required no specialist IT knowledge: “The sensitive data was practically public on the internet.”
The data was never made public and has been returned to Swiss Railways. The hacker said they had no criminal intent but merely wanted to expose the problem.
The Federal Data Protection Commissioner was informed of the security breach.
‘Potential for abuse’
“This is a huge meltdown for Swiss Railways,” Otto Hostettler, a journalist and author specialising in internet crime, told Rundschau. “Such data can be sold in hacker forums on the dark web. In the wrong hands it would have great potential for abuse.”
This has been demonstrated by hacks into Swiss municipal databases in recent months, including the towns of Montreux and Rolle in western Switzerland.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
Swiss authorities announce cost-cutting in asylum sector
This content was published on
The government notably wants to improve integration into the labour force, particularly for people with protection status S.
Various leaders confirm participation at Ukraine peace conference
This content was published on
The presidents of Poland, Finland, and Latvia and the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium will be at the Swiss-hosted talks in mid-June.
This content was published on
In the winter season up to April 2024, railway and cable car operators ferried 3% more visitors compared to the previous winter, and 5% more than the five-year average.
Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
This content was published on
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
Swiss government proposes CHF10 million UNRWA donation
This content was published on
After months of debate, Switzerland plans to give CHF10 million ($11 million) to the UN agency this year, rather than the CHF20 million initially foreseen.
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
Hackers target the Swiss town of Montreux
This content was published on
Hackers have carried out a cyber attack against databases belonging to the Montreux authorities in southwestern Switzerland.
Successful hacking group targets Swiss towns, companies, hospitals
This content was published on
A group that hacked a Swiss town and posted datan on the Darknet has threatened to target other municipalities, companies or hospitals.
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.