What if CO2 could be used to produce sustainable and climate-neutral fuel? This question is Aplhasynt and wants to contribute to the fight against climate change and excessive CO2 emissions with new technology. The basis for this is the methanation technology developed at the Paul Scherrer Institute, which has been embedded in Aplhasynt through a licensing and partnership agreement.

In short, it is a process that converts electrical energy into synthetic energy sources and feedstocks. If renewable electricity and non-fossil CO2 sources are used in the production process, the resulting synfuels or e-fuels are climate-neutral energy sources.

For the startup, Quade & Zurfluh created the claim "Renewable energy sources through CO₂-Upcycling" and designed and implemented the rebranding.

Although the acute effects of the pandemic are subsiding in many countries, companies will continue to face significant risks worldwide in 2023. Experts predict that global risks have the potential to lower productivity levels as the cost-of-living crisis and challenging security situation impact employees. This is according to a new risk outlook, "Risk Outlook 2023," from International SOS and the updated world risk map "Risk Map out. These contain data on the medical and security environment of countries around the world with a classification ranging from "insignificant" to "extreme".

Many of the findings for the 2023 Risk Outlook are based on a survey of 1218 senior employee health and safety professionals in 108 countries. From the DACH region, 108 experts participated. This provides a detailed overview of some of the biggest risks companies will face in 2023. In addition to existing issues, such as mental health, it shows that managers should support their employees in using accurate sources of information as they are affected by constantly changing events in the permanent crisis.

Risk Outlook 2023: The five forecasts from International SOS

Based on the results of the Risk Outlook survey, the Workforce Resilience Council and the organization's own data, International SOS has identified the top five trends that organizations need to be aware of in 2023:

1. Importance of news/information in decision making: The influence of up-to-date, trustworthy, accurate, and actionable information or news on business decision-making continues to grow.
2. Adapting to the "permanent crisis": Companies must adapt to a permanent crisis with geopolitical shifts, socio-economic challenges and increasing polarization.
3. Planning the unplannable - Business travel and overseas trips are slowly returning to their old levels, but are being done with far more caution and care. Business travelers want more support.
4. Climate change and other events: Climate change or its consequences and other circumstances, such as epidemics and pandemics, increase health risks with far-reaching effects. A comprehensive approach is needed for companies to ensure employee health.
5. The 'happy at work' equation (A+B+C)-D: This is the new equation for satisfaction at work. A new era has dawned in terms of mental health at work.

Consideration of the effects of geopolitical changes

The Russia/Ukraine conflict was the defining security issue in 2022, illustrating that geopolitics and the threat of interstate conflict are back on the corporate risk agenda. The conflict will certainly continue to have an impact in 2023. As a result, companies must learn to effectively manage the changing global risk environment. Geopolitical volatility will also spread beyond Russia/Ukraine over the next twelve months, as the growing rift between Russia and the West will impact other conflicts and exacerbate long-standing geopolitical tensions. In addition to the unmistakable divide between Russia and the West, competition between the U.S. and China will increasingly dominate the geopolitical and economic landscape. Best practices for companies are to continually review the likelihood and potential impact to elicit the potential consequences for their business and employees.

Many crisis management teams are currently learning to deal with a state of "permanent crisis". In 2023, it will be an important task for companies to provide the right level of training, investment and support for these teams, as experts have already pointed to a high level of crisis management fatigue. Overcoming this state of fatigue is key to the transition from permanent crisis to crisis resilience. Companies that have effectively implemented lessons learned from the past two years will benefit from more robust capabilities to cope with challenges. Dealing with the ongoing crisis in the right way is proving to be an extremely important issue: numerous experts surveyed predict that geopolitical trends will have a negative impact on productivity levels:

Increasing social unrest

The new Risk Outlook also shows how many of the experts surveyed believe social unrest will be a major cause of lost productivity in 2023. According to the report, 48 percent of respondents predict that cost-of-living pressures will impact domestic workers, and one-third (33 percent) expect unrest to affect business travelers. As a result, social unrest will be a major item on executives' agendas in 2023 - the problem is extremely multifaceted and impacts businesses and employees in many ways. Some issues and key points that executives should consider in this context are:

• Volatility in energy and agricultural markets will fuel unrest, especially in unstable, fragile economies. Regions most likely to be affected: Sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, Lebanon.
• Lack of progress in resolving underlying economic or political problems will lead to growing public discontent as well as unrest, with the risk of violence growing over time. Regions most likely to be affected: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Peru, Iraq.
• Polarization at the global level will translate into further domestic division, reinforcing existing triggers for social unrest and, in extreme cases, leading to increased localized violence and criminal activity. High-risk regions: USA, Western Europe.

Increasing impact of climate change

According to the Risk Outlook 2023, the effects of climate change - beyond the immediate consequences of extreme weather events - must be taken into account on several levels. Companies should be prepared for the potential increase in health risks associated with climate change. Experts point out that climate change is contributing to an acceleration in the emergence of new infectious diseases as well as the re-emergence of old ones, as demonstrated by the numerous "unusual" outbreaks of the 21st century. These include SARS, Ebola, COVID-19 and monkeypox. A report published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change in August 2022 estimates that "over half of known human pathogenic diseases may be exacerbated by climate change". It is thought that climate change will also lead to an increase in mosquito-borne diseases as temperatures and water levels rise. This situation could lead to outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever and Zika virus in areas where these diseases have not yet emerged and to more frequent outbreaks in areas where they are already present.

These forecasts are all the more important given that only a quarter of the organizations surveyed (25 percent) are actively preparing for future pandemics and COVID-19 variants. Best practices include conducting risk assessments of existing and potential health threats, including projections for the potential geographic expansion of threats due to climate change and other forces. Dr. Stefan Esser, Medical Director Central Europe at International SOS, comments: "Companies are well acquainted with the response to the existing COVID-19 pandemic and should build on this existing knowledge. Crisis and business continuity plans need to be expanded to take into account both known health risks and other potential health threats. It makes sense to carry out emergency drills: these should include both likely and unlikely worst-case scenarios to ensure that responsible teams and employees are prepared."

Business travelers need more support in 2023

The 2023 Risk Outlook indicates that most companies (86 percent) will maintain or increase their budgets for travel risk management. Travel is expected to continue to increase and likely reach pre-pandemic levels. This trend is confirmed by data collected by International SOS. According to this data, international travel is currently 83 percent of pre-pandemic volumes. However, travelers are twice as likely to need advice or assistance. Business travel will clearly become more complex in the coming year, as companies must manage many issues in parallel. Encouragingly, experts predict that despite rising costs, travel management budgets will increase or stay the same in 2023. Investments of this kind will be crucial to ensuring the safety of business travelers in the coming year.

Source: International SOS

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/risikoausblick-2023-unternehmen-geraten-in-dauerkrisen-modus/

Data is the new oil, the new oxygen, or the lifeblood of a company. Whichever metaphor best applies, without access to critical data and systems, a company is paralyzed while competitors pass by. That's why they should stay up to date on the latest threats to their data, as well as the tools they use to protect it. Arcserve, an established manufacturer of data protection solutions, describes five developments that will impact how businesses secure and manage their data in 2023 and beyond.

1. the hypothesis of a massive SaaS outage as a wake-up call

Still hypothetical at the moment, but the first major software-as-a-service outage could occur as early as 2023. In this case, it will very quickly become apparent that data backup and recovery are the top priority. Companies around the world are increasingly using software as a service instead of running their own locally installed IT infrastructure. Here's a fictitious example: If a service, say Microsoft 365, had a major outage, what then? Well, many large SaaS providers guarantee the reliability of their service, but not the security of the data. That's the responsibility of the companies, meaning the users. And that's why they need third-party software to survive an outage and protect the data in the long term.

In addition, companies should focus on the 3-2-1-1 strategy (or extended: 3-2-1-1-0 rule) to back up their data. This strategy involves creating three backup copies of the data on two different types of media (e.g., hard disk or tape), with one of these copies stored in a different location for disaster recovery. And the last aspect is Immutable Object Storage. Immutable Object Storage is a next-generation data protection tool that continuously protects data by taking an immutable snapshot every 90 seconds. This guarantees that companies can quickly recover their data even in the event of a major SaaS outage.

2. cost savings will do more harm than good

In view of rising energy prices and extreme inflation, companies will be optimizing costs in 2023. One thing should definitely not happen in the process: Cutting back on data protection. Even as companies review their operating expenses to offset some of the inflation, they must continue to invest in protecting, storing and securing their data.

Data protection may seem like an area where you can easily save some money. But any curtailment of data security will result in higher costs. According to the latest IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2022 Report the average cost of a data breach worldwide is $4.35 million. In 2023, it will be even more important to recognize the importance of data and ensure that any budget cuts have minimal impact on business operations and assurance.

3. companies will have to use their security budgets wisely

It is likely that, despite this, many companies are also cutting back on security measures. Those that do should be aware that this is exactly when cybercriminals strike. Cyber thieves are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit. That's why companies should be cautious about cost-cutting measures and consider how they spend their data security budget.

Most companies today invest in basic security technologies such as firewalls, antivirus, and intrusion detection solutions. But they should be aware that cybercriminals will inevitably breach these safeguards at least once. Companies should have a plan for this possibility and allocate their security budget accordingly. For every franc or euro they spend on firewalls or antivirus solutions, businesses should invest another franc on solutions that will help them secure their data and recover from a cyberattack.

4. enterprises need solutions to protect data at risk from remote work

During the pandemic, most companies adopted remote and hybrid working models. Many will continue these models in 2023 because they know it will benefit them financially while ensuring employees are happier, more engaged and more productive. Many people prefer to work from home rather than commute to the office for a variety of reasons. As a result, companies can, for example, reduce their energy costs if fewer employees are in the office, or they can even reduce their office space.

But they need to be aware that as remote working increases, their data becomes even more fragmented or distributed, increasing their vulnerabilities. As hybrid working becomes more prevalent, organizations in 2023 will need to find simple, cost-effective solutions to effectively secure and protect their data in home office environments without committing additional resources or capital.

5. enterprises using cloud services for data backup and recovery will look for hosting partners that accurately report Scope 3 emissions

In many countries, large companies are required to disclose their CO2 emissions and their contribution to slowing climate change. The problem is that there are no global standards for this disclosure. Companies measure their emissions in different ways, making it difficult to compare performance in this area. In addition, most companies only report on the emissions they produce themselves, such as those produced by heating offices. These are referred to as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and represent only a fraction of total emissions.

Most emissions are attributable to Scope 3. This means that they are generated - today and in the future - by the activities of all actors in a company's value chain. Scope 3 emissions have an enormous scope and are largely not recorded. Thanks to this "blind spot," companies can easily claim that they will be a net-zero company by 2050 because they do not have to report all CO2 emissions from the entire value chain. In 2023, for example, cloud companies will have to accurately report their Scope 3 emissions or face suspicion of greenwashing. And companies that use cloud services for data backup and recovery will look for partners that accurately report their Scope 3 emissions to act as responsible companies.

Conclusion

In today's increasingly fast-paced and unpredictable world, business challenges of all kinds are becoming harder to identify and solve. Data protection is one of them. Companies that face and solve these challenges in 2023 will use innovative tools and strategies to secure their data and, in turn, their business.

Source: Arcserve

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/datensicherheit-fuenf-entwicklungen-die-es-2023-zu-beruecksichtigen-gilt/

GfK highlights the most important results of Black Week in the area of technical consumer goods. With a sales volume of CHF 114.2 million and an increase of +11.5 percent, Black Week 2022 was within the forecast range. Thus, even the record mark of two years ago (CHF 110.2 million) was exceeded.

The individual product groups developed as follows in terms of value compared with the previous year:

• The highest sales (CHF 38.2 million) this year were generated by far by the high demand for smartphones. Compared to the previous year, this was an increase of almost CHF 12.0 million. It should be noted that the availability of smartphones was very limited a year ago due to bottlenecks in components and interrupted supply chains.
• Mobile computers again recorded the second highest demand. At CHF 28.4 million, sales were CHF 2.1 million higher than in the previous year.
• TVs, which have always been the main sales driver during Black Week, were in third place. The volume declined from CHF 29.8 million in the previous year to CHF 26.7 million. Sales were brought forward by the promotions in the weeks before the World Cup.
• The gaming theme cooled down somewhat and had a negative impact on sales of desk computers. In terms of value, the volume declined from CHF 9.2 million to CHF 8.0 million.
• Tablets, on the other hand, were high on the list this year, with sales increasing from CHF 7.4 million to CHF 8.5 million compared to the previous year.
• The post-pandemic pent-up demand for photo cameras also showed a positive trend during Black Week. Sales of CHF 4.4 million were around 1.0 million up on the previous year.

Until today, there was no reliable and intelligent technical solution that operates a "real" emergency detection at home and at the same time serves the needs across generations. With the SAFE-living solution, Sedimentum enables seniors to extend the period of their lives in their own homes while providing digital support and relief to family members. The emergency call detectors come completely without wearing a wristband or pressing an emergency button and function without a camera or sound recording. The non-contact emergency call solution automatically summons help not only in the event of a fall, but also for other potential emergencies. This is intended to create a safer living space for residents.

Innovation completely "Swiss Made

"We regularly receive inquiries from our neighboring countries, but also from the U.S. and even Asia," explains CEO and founder Sandro Cilurzo. That's why the startup hopes its product will find favor at CES. "We are very excited to be at CES 2023 in the Swisstech Pavilion and to present our solution to the world," says Cilurzo. The smart home emergency call detectors are developed as well as manufactured in Switzerland and are also ready for international use. Based on sophisticated AI technology and specially developed sensors, the emergency detectors measure movement and send an alarm to Sedimentum's emergency call center in the event of an emergency. The emergency detectors are installed by Sedimentum on the ceiling and work contactless as well as automated, and this without camera or microphone.

With emergency call solution at the Consumer Electronics Show

The startup from Cham is now presenting its emergency call solution, which consists of a contactless emergency detector, an app and an alert to the 24/7 emergency call center, at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The company is participating in the Swisstech Pavilion, organized by Switzerland Global Enterprise in collaboration with EDA Presence Switzerland, Presence Switzerland and Innosuisse. Over the past 50 years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has established itself as the global showcase for innovations and groundbreaking technologies in the entertainment and electronics industries. This is where tomorrow's innovations meet the market, investors and experts. CES 2023 in Las Vegas is the international stage for well-known brands as well as for emerging start-ups and the meeting point of the tech industry. Sedimentum is therefore one of a handful of select and promising Swiss start-ups that will be allowed to exhibit at CES 2023.

Source: Sedimentum

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/startup-aus-cham-erobert-mit-notrufloesung-die-usa/

The Raiffeisen.ch website is visited more than 37 million times a year. However, customer needs are increasingly changing with digitization: simple, intuitive, and fast solutions are in demand. In addition, new brand design requirements arose with the brand refresh of the Raiffeisen brand in 2021 (Werbewoche.ch reported). The web relaunch was to take these circumstances into account and create a modern customer experience.

The new website comes with a simple, focused design. The visual language is clear and the content to the point. Raiffeisen's new color scheme is now also present on the website: red, black and white are used as primary colors throughout. The selective use of large typography is intended to create visual variety.

User-centric concept, optimized customer experience

With the relaunch, Raiffeisen is not only adapting the look of the website, but is also reorganizing its content in stages. A user-centric concept reduces the content to the essentials and is designed to address the needs of Raiffeisen customers in a targeted and individualized manner. "With our new access concept, we want to make it easier to experience the variety of high-quality content that we have on Raiffeisen.ch today," explains Laure Frank, Head of Digital Business at Raiffeisen.

Interdisciplinary teamwork and step-by-step implementation

The preparatory work already started at the end of 2021. An agile organization is essential when relaunching a website. In addition, individual Raiffeisen banks were continuously involved in the development process and prototypes were tested with customers to ensure that the website was optimally aligned with customer and market needs.

After a comprehensive analysis, Raiffeisen launched the website development at the beginning of 2022 in collaboration with partner Cognizant Netcentric. The staged implementation of the redesign is the first step towards Raiffeisen's new customer experience. In order to introduce the new access concept on a broad scale, a revision of all content on Raiffeisen.ch is pending, which will be successively tackled in the course of 2023.

The new website is open to the general public with immediate effect. Feedback from visitors will be actively collected and communicated to the Raiffeisen team in the coming days.

Responsible at Raiffeisen Switzerland: Laure Frank (Head of Digital Business), Katharina Hohmann (Head of Web & Content), Beatrice Scarpelli (Project Manager and Product Owner Raiffeisen.ch).

Singles Day, Black Friday and the like are over - but what ended up in Swiss shoppers' baskets? Microspot.ch investigated this and found out: The German-speaking Swiss generally enjoyed the campaign days more than the other language regions of Switzerland.

Almost 80 percent of all orders came from households in German-speaking Switzerland. The most expensive shoppers were those in Zug, while the least expensive were those in Appenzell Innerrhoden. On average, Zug residents spent over CHF 70 more than Appenzell residents. What united all regions of Switzerland, however, was the enormous demand for diapers. They landed in the shopping baskets the most over the campaign days. Almost five times the amount of a normal week was sold in wet wipes and diapers in all sizes. Only more popular than diapers among men were headphones. Otherwise, men mainly shopped for the Seven25 annual public transport subscription, lighting accessories such as Philips Hue and smartphones. After diapers and the Seven25 subscription, women also bought headphones, smartphones and Lego.

care4IT.ch ensures that SMEs and organizations with up to 50 computer users on average in the greater Zurich area can run their core business more competitively with modern and up-to-date IT infrastructure. Now the IT company, itself an SME, has launched a ISO 27001 certified Information Security Management System developed. The project lasted two years and involved the entire staff. With a staff of 20 employees, care4IT.ch is a rare exception, as otherwise only medium-sized and large IT companies with 50-100 employees have ISO 27001. When asked about the added value of a complex management system for data protection and data security in an IT service company, Matthias Naber, CTO and co-owner, sums it up dryly: "Actually, every IT service provider needs it"!

High benefit for customers and for care4IT.ch

During the system setup, the entire care4IT.ch team was regularly trained, backup and various protection solutions were designed and implemented, and all the necessary conditions were created to ensure that the intended security standards could be reliably met.

The concrete added value of ISO 27001 in the IT company can be localized in three areas of benefit. First, the certified information security management system supports the "blind" trust and gut feeling of customers with a tested and clearly defined security rating. Secondly, a broad and deep expertise in data and information security and data protection is built up throughout the company, which is automatically reflected in the customer's IT infrastructures and positively influences their quality. And thirdly, an "information security system light" can be built up during the project, as a kind of waste product, which can be used directly by customers as a paid service to create added value.

Competitive position improved

Care4IT.ch has made use of all three benefits. At the same time, the certificate improves Care4IT.ch's competitive position with customers who have more than 100 IT workstations, as they often attach above-average importance to certified quality. Last but not least, it strengthens the necessary differentiation of care4IT.ch from its competitors and provides it with a strong marketing tool.

The "all from one source" offer of care4IT.ch includes IT consulting, conception and planning as well as realization of complete IT infrastructure solutions for data, voice and video. The on premise and cloud infrastructures put into operation are monitored by means of real-time monitoring, maintained and replaced if necessary. This 24/7 support with guaranteed response times ensures uninterrupted operation. Thanks to a "flat rate" and a clear price structure, operating costs can be calculated and budgeted at any time.

Source and further information: care4IT.ch GmbH

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/kmu-entwickelt-iso-27001-zertifiziertes-information-security-management-system/

Higher energy prices and inflation do not appear to have a direct impact on the amount Swiss consumers spend on Christmas gifts. This is shown by a new study conducted by the audit and consulting firm EY in Switzerland. The study is based on a representative survey of more than 400 adult consumers in Switzerland, conducted at the end of November 2022. The survey period also covers Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

According to the survey, the budgets mentioned even rise to a new high: respondents intend to spend an average of 343 Swiss francs. This represents a 3 percent increase on the record figure achieved in the previous year (2021: 334 Swiss francs). What is remarkable here is that this increase is primarily attributable to the men surveyed. At 375 francs, they intend to spend significantly more on gifts than last year (2021: 351 francs). Meanwhile, women intend to spend 309 francs less than last year (2021: 320 francs).

More than 250 francs for gifts

However, these figures are only partly reflected when consumers are asked about their intentions: A majority of 62 percent want to reduce spending - 41 percent of them "slightly" and 21 percent even "significantly." The remaining 38 percent do not intend to change their consumer behavior - at least for this Christmas.

53 percent of respondents (previous year: 50 percent) are planning a budget of more than CHF 250 for Christmas shopping this year; one in five is even planning on a gift budget of more than CHF 500. Only 15 percent are planning on smaller Christmas budgets of up to 100 francs, according to the latest EY survey. A detailed look at Christmas budgets shows that 18 percent of the Swiss consumers surveyed expect to spend between 301 and 500 francs. In each case, 16 percent plan to spend between 251 and 300 francs and between 101 and 200 francs. Only 6 percent will spend less than 50 francs on Christmas gifts and 5 percent say they expect to spend over 1,000 francs.

Gift vouchers and money

The most frequently mentioned gift category this year is "gift certificates and money" with 41 percent (2021: 32 percent). They take over from last year's frontrunners, both of which have seen a very significant drop in popularity: "clothing" drops from 41 percent last year to 29 percent this year, and "cosmetics" are still mentioned by 22 percent this year (2021: 41 percent). The named top spenders for this Christmas continue to include "Toys" (38 percent), "Food and Confectionery" (34 percent), "Pressed Books" (33 percent), and "Event and Event Attendance" (19 percent) and "Jewelry" (17 percent). Consumers in Switzerland are investing by far the highest sums in "gift vouchers" this year: at an average of CHF 62, they want to spend an average of CHF 13 more on these than on "toys" and even twice as much as on "clothing".

Around 60 percent of consumers in Switzerland say that sustainability aspects play a minor role for them this year when giving gifts and celebrating Christmas (previous year: 75 percent), and for 12 percent of consumers they even say they play a major role (previous year: 24 percent). Women take sustainability aspects into account significantly more often than men: for 65 percent of women, sustainability plays a role, compared with 53 percent of men. In terms of where and how people store, online shopping is continuing its success story. While a market share of 33 percent was expected last year, this year it is 38 percent.

For IT security awareness in companies, there is no ready-made standard kit that you purchase once, install and update from time to time. IT security must be understood as a process that must be continually adapted to changing conditions. Engineering and technologies (such as AI) help with this. At the end of the IT usage chain, however, is the human being, who carries out his or her activities with the help of computers and devices. And this is where IT security becomes vulnerable. Because the human factor always plays a decisive role when it comes to vulnerabilities.

But how do company managements in Germany, Austria and Switzerland view this? Do they trust their employees to recognize a phishing email that looks deceptively real? Do they surf via the company VPN during their breaks in the home office, thus endangering the company's IT? How high is IT security awareness among the workforce? Sophos wanted to know this, among other things, from senior and higher managers (C-level) in the three German-speaking countries. On behalf of Sophos, the opinion research institute Ipsos surveyed around 200 managers from the retail, services and manufacturing sectors. The survey was graded according to the German system, i.e. the top grade in each case is a 1.

Scores for IT security awareness: German bosses 2, employees 3

Across all industries, German managers attest themselves a very high (35.3 percent) to high (46.3 percent) awareness of IT security. Company size certainly plays a role in self-assessment: in larger companies (200 employees and more), 30.2 percent of managers give themselves a grade of 1, while the figure for smaller companies (50-199 employees) is 37.2 percent. If we compare the sectors, it is particularly the retail sector where 38.7 percent of managers believe they have a very high awareness of IT security.

German managers are somewhat stricter when it comes to assessing their teams: the majority (41.8 percent) only give them a grade of 3 - Satisfactory. The highest marks for employees were awarded by bosses from the service sector (11 percent). Here, too, the size of the company plays a role in the assessment: bosses of up to 199 employees consider the safety awareness of their workforce to be very high, with 10.8 percent. Managers at companies with over 200 employees give the top score to only 5.7 percent of their workforce. They even give the grade 5 to 3.8 percent, while smaller companies only attribute such a low level of IT security awareness to 0.7 percent of their employees.

Managers of large Austrian companies more often give themselves and their staff a 1

By contrast, the picture is somewhat different in Austria. While, as in Germany, the majority (45.3 percent) also give their staff a 3, the proportion of top marks is higher overall than in Germany: here, 13.2 percent give their teams a straight 1 in the area of cyber awareness. And while in Germany the larger companies have a more critical assessment, in the Alpine republic it is the other way around: 17.6 percent of companies with more than 200 employees give them a 1 or 2 in security awareness.

At 41.5 percent, Austrian managers attest to a very high level of IT security awareness, while 39.6 percent attest to a high level of IT security awareness - better than the self-assessments of German managers. Similar assessment ratios can be seen when looking at company sizes: In large companies, 52.9 percent of managers rate themselves with a 1, while in smaller companies the figure is 36.1 percent.

Swiss managers give themselves a 2, employees a 2-3

The safety awareness of management in Switzerland is rated at the highest average of 45.1 percent with a score of 2. A little more in smaller companies (46.9 percent) and a little less in large companies (42.1 percent). The highest grade is awarded by 39.2 percent of Swiss bosses (47.4 percent in the manufacturing sector). Large companies give themselves a 1 and a 2 with the same rating (42.1 percent each).

35.3 percent of Swiss decision-makers (26.3 percent in large companies, 40.6 percent in smaller ones) rate the safety awareness of their employees as 3 and thus satisfactory. Larger companies give their staff an even 2 (36.8 percent, average 29.4 percent).

Training as the most important additional safety measure

For every second company in Germany, employee training is the most important measure for improving cybersecurity in the company. The majority of companies are aware that people are a critical factor in cybersecurity. When asked what measures the decision-makers in their companies are taking for their cybersecurity, employee training has been in first place for at least two or three years, at 55.7 percent. The manufacturing sector in Germany has been particularly committed to training for several years, at 64.6 percent, while the majority of the retail sector has only been training its teams in this regard for about a year (41.9 percent).

In neighboring Austria, bosses have also been investing in their employees' safety skills for at least two or three years as the most important of their protective measures, at 64.4 percent. In retail, this figure is lowest at 44.4 percent. Around one in five companies has been holding employee training courses for just one year (20.8 percent). Again, there is a stark difference between manufacturing (27.8 percent) and retail (11.1 percent), with retail reporting that 33.3 percent plan to do so.

The Swiss also see workforce training as the most important measure for improving cyber security, with 66.7 percent in first place, and have been doing this for at least two or three years. The Swiss manufacturing sector is well above average here at 84.2 percent, while retail is well below at 37.5 percent and service providers are close to average at 62.5 percent. Company size is not a decisive parameter in Switzerland and deviates only marginally from the average.

Summa Summarum: Satisfactory IT security awareness probably acceptable

Overall and across all three countries, the executives in Germany, Austria and Switzerland attest to a fundamentally positive and responsible approach to IT security on the part of themselves and their teams - although there is still room for improvement. The Austrian example stands out positively, with a more benevolent approach to itself and its employees, while company management continues to maintain awareness with regular training.

The bosses in Germany and Switzerland have a very similar opinion of themselves and their employees. Team training has also been one of the most important security measures for years; Switzerland even records the highest value here, while just like in Germany, it only gives the workforce a satisfactory rating in their IT security awareness. There may be several reasons for this discrepancy between capability attribution and training - perhaps the training is not yet as efficient as hoped, or a longer training phase is needed. Perhaps, after years of training in many cases, a "satisfactory" must be accepted for the time being as sufficient awareness of enterprise IT security - especially in light of increasingly tricky attack tactics such as phishing emails or social engineering. In any case, training is and will remain a very important building block for corporate IT security. Bosses are aware of the vulnerability of people in the system and show commitment to improving it with appropriate measures.

Source: Sophos

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/so-bewerten-chefs-das-it-sicherheitsbewusstsein-ihrer-mitarbeitenden/

In collaboration with illustrator Jaron Gyger and FHGR spin-off Chilyvent, Furrerhugi has revised the key visual and the Züri-Leu for Züri Fäscht 2023. Since Thursday, the new look has been creating anticipation for the upcoming festival. With the skyline of Zurich and Lake Zurich, the key visual is based on the tradition of the Züri Fäscht as a lake night festival.

Color mane, joyful laughter

With his colorful mane and the joy he radiates, the new Züri-Leu embodies the departure into the future and the diversity of the Züri Fäscht. For this purpose, the illustration was refreshed and based on emoticons. The Züri-Leu can now not only roar, but also wink at the visitors. the website and the social media channels as well.

Focus on sustainability

The Züri Fäscht is also breaking new ground in the area of sustainability, and in 2023 will be implementing a Sustainability concept um. This was developed with the involvement of municipal and private organizations. The sustainability strategy focuses on long-term goals and works step by step to achieve them. Waste is to be reduced by 50 percent with the new concept.

In addition, the final phase of sponsorship has begun. However, there are still opportunities for companies to present themselves on interesting topics such as family, sustainability or waste disposal at Züri Fäscht.

Responsible at Züri Fäscht: Jeannette Herzog (Business Manager). Responsible at Furrerhugi: Andreas Hugi (Mandate Management), Sonja Glauser-Rychener (Art Direction), Patrick Blaser (Consulting), Sarah Bünter (Consulting). Illustration: Jaron Gyger. Animation: Philip Zurmühle (Chilyvent).

In the current, saturated digital ecosystem, attention is a crucial factor. To capture consumer attention, creativity is key. A current Study Shows that advertisers can increase awareness of their ads by 49 percent by optimizing them for the environment they are in (Werbewoche.ch reported).

The "Teads Attention Program" is designed to enable brands to optimize multi-screen reporting of attention in Teads Ad Manager. By integrating Lumen and Adelaide, two attention measurement providers, as well as eye-tracking and neuromarketing study provider Realeyes, Teads is building a toolkit to enable advertisers to increase effectiveness and business success.

Investigations of Dentsu International have shown that the measurement of attention is three times better at predicting results than viewability. Gradually, then, attention is becoming more important. Advertisers are now able to overcome some of the key challenges they have had in terms of ad spend. But to do so, Teads says they need to evolve and prioritize attention metrics in terms of buying, planning as well as measuring campaigns.

Creativity as a driving force

Creativity is needed to attract and retain the attention of consumers. Its importance for digital advertising is indisputable. According to studies, there is a difference of up to 17 percent in brand recall between good and bad creations. It has also been shown that about two-thirds of media effectiveness depends on creativity.

Advertisers also need to consider the context of ads as well as creativity. Placing ads around relevant content increases awareness while providing a better overall experience for consumers.

Positive UX influences attention

The user experience of a website also has a significant impact on attention. Users are more receptive to ads that are presented in a high-quality, non-cluttered environment. A larger, better thought-out ad has a much more lasting effect on memory than several small ads.

Consumers welcome having their attention captured rather than being forced to consume advertising. Voluntarily consumed advertising has a more positive impact on brand loyalty metrics - regardless of how long the consumer watches the ad.

Cooperation between Teads, KHC and Dentsu International

Teads' cooperation with KHC and Dentsu International, launched by KHC media agency Carat, is to further develop the "Teads Attention Program"". To this end, Teads and Carat are using the attention model developed by Dentsu with Lumen to measure the attention of the advertising target group.

Over a six-month period, this will gather and document key insights and understandings about the drivers and metrics of awareness for KHC's products. These new metrics will enable KHC to better and more sustainably optimize digital performance for future campaigns.