Cybercrime is on the rise – and is having an impact on the everyday digital activities of millions of users in Switzerland, too. The SMG Swiss Marketplace Group invited representatives from public authorities, prevention-focused bodies, businesses and specialist organisations to the first SMG Cybersecurity Day to discuss specific approaches to combating fraud, identity theft and phishing. The programme included insights into SMG’s security work, an overview of the federal government’s perspective and a moderated panel discussion.
With the first SMG Cybersecurity Day, which took place last week, the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group facilitated dialogue between businesses, politicians and public authorities. The aim of the event was to share findings, openly discuss challenges and jointly develop measures to combat cybercrime. Christoph Tonini, CEO of SMG, kicked off proceedings. He stressed that digital marketplaces are founded on trust and that security needs to be continuously strengthened as a result. At the same time, he explained that cybersecurity is a prerequisite for innovation, because it lays the groundwork for implementing new solutions in a responsible and future-proof manner.
Practical insights from SMG on protecting online marketplaces
The SMG Group’s Security, Safety and Trust team offered insights into the interplay between technology, processes and prevention when it comes to protecting online marketplaces. Group CISO/CSO Mostafa Hassanin made it clear that cybersecurity is a top priority, explaining that the decisive factor is not the amount of investment, but providing the maximum level of risk-based protection in the right places, and ensuring that this is clearly prioritised. No matter how much you invest, he said, you can never stand still: attackers are always evolving, and you need to be constantly improving. The dual role of artificial intelligence was also discussed. While AI makes attacks more scalable, it can also reduce the burden on security teams and support detection, as long as it is embedded in processes responsibly. A second talk focused on digital identity. Examples were used to illustrate how identities and accesses on SMG’s platforms can be protected in a more phishing-secure and context-aware manner to reduce account takeovers and fraud attempts, such as via passwordless logins and registrations.
The federal government’s perspective
Florian Schütz, Director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), gave an overview of current threats. He explained that cybersecurity was a task for society as a whole, and noted that, as digitalisation forges ahead, crime, too, is shifting to the digital realm. Attacks, infrastructure dependencies and rising security costs affect not only individual organisations, but also the resilience of the economy and our society as a whole, making collaboration between the state, business and local institutions all the more important. Schütz mentioned investments in product safety and high minimum standards as further levers.
Perspectives from public authorities, prevention and business
In the ensuing panel discussion, Florian Schütz, Fabian Ilg (Managing Director of Swiss Crime Prevention), Mostafa Hassanin and Jessica List (Chief Corporate Officer of SMG) discussed key questions relating to cybersecurity and the roles that industry, public authorities, prevention stakeholders and the media can play, highlighting the following common denominator: merely responding to issues is not enough – prevention needs to start at an earlier stage. At the same time, law enforcement and professional incident handling remain crucial.
Emphasis was also placed on education and comprehensibility: cyber attacks are often successful not because they are particularly technically complex, but because risks are misjudged in everyday digital usage, with this exacerbated by the uptick in AI-backed social engineering methods. The media was cited as an important multiplier for providing clarification, everyday protection tips and reliable expert opinions. At the same time, it became clear that cybersecurity is a never-ending task. Protecting digital platforms is an ongoing process and requires a balance to be struck between user experience, data protection and security measures.
As Mostafa Hassanin sums up: “Cybercrime is a lucrative business model, as long as returns are high and the risk is low. Prevention is therefore crucial: we need to detect attacks earlier, make monetisation more difficult and raise awareness so that people can recognise the warning signs more quickly and respond appropriately. This is exactly what our day-to-day work at SMG focuses on.”
SMG is further expanding its online marketplaces’ protection mechanisms by improving technology, processes and education. At the same time, collaboration with public authorities and prevention partners is to be stepped up to ensure that cyber risks are contained even more effectively.
Roswitha Brunner
Head Corporate Communication & Public Affairs
