The Digital Ad Trust (DAT) association and the Swiss booking platform OneDSP are entering into a partnership. The aim is to make DAT-certified advertising environments in programmatic advertising more easily accessible and to increase the visibility and relevance of the seal of approval in the market.

DAT defines and verifies quality standards for digital advertising in Switzerland in the areas of visibility, brand safety and ad fraud. OneDSP, in turn, provides advertisers and agencies with centralized programmatic access to Swiss publishers, including all DAT-certified offers. The partnership thus creates a direct link between certification (DAT) and booking platform (OneDSP) without any additional effort for campaign planning.

Roland Ehrler, President of the Digital Ad Trust and Director of the Swiss Advertisers Association: «With this partnership, we are creating an easy way to book DAT-certified advertising environments collectively via OneDSP. This gives advertisers the certainty that their campaigns will only appear in verified and trustworthy environments.»

OneLog CEO Silvano Oeschger: «Quality and efficiency in programmatic advertising don't have to be a contradiction in terms. By combining DAT certification with OneDSP technology, we create maximum transparency and simplify access to verified premium inventory from Switzerland - all in one place.»

With this partnership, DAT and OneDSP want to send a strong signal for responsible digital marketing and further advance the professionalization of the Swiss advertising market.

The Goldbach Group is taking the next step in its reorganization and is continuing to focus on its core business. To this end, it is discontinuing the Regional Sales business area, including the Ad Unit, and reducing complexity within the Goldbach Group.

Discussions are underway to reorganize these teams within the TX Group and to take over some of them. The Goldbach Group is concentrating on the healthy further development of TV, out-of-home advertising, digital and audio.

These structural adjustments will result in a maximum of 65 job cuts at the Goldbach Group. This is subject to the results of the consultation process, which is currently underway. The areas in which the jobs will actually be cut will be clear by the end of November, once the consultation process has been completed and the decisions on the potential takeover of parts of the TX Group have been made.

The processing of AdUnit customer orders remains guaranteed. A successor solution is being worked on. Information on the next steps will be provided in good time

Firefighters and industrial safety teams face major risks when they have to assess hot environments such as burning buildings or industrial furnaces. These operations are characterized by toxic smoke, risk of collapse and extreme heat. Conventional drones fail under such conditions - and emergency services lack the urgently needed real-time overview.

Inspections at over 200 °C

The Empa spin-off FireDrone develops autonomous, heat-resistant drones that can withstand temperatures of over 200 °C and enable real-time hazard detection in environments where conventional technologies fail. Thanks to innovative thermal insulation and integrated cooling systems, the drones increase safety, reduce downtime and improve decision-making in critical situations.

FireDrone focuses on two main markets: high-temperature industrial inspections and public safety. Together they represent a market volume of around USD 12.1 billion - of which USD 6.45 billion is in industrial inspection and USD 5.65 billion in firefighting. The initial addressable market of approximately USD 1 billion includes industries such as cement, steel and aluminium production, waste recycling, fertilizer and glass production as well as emergency response applications. These sectors share key needs: Minimizing downtime, increasing workplace safety and meeting regulatory requirements - challenges that FireDrone's technology addresses with precise real-time monitoring in extreme environments.

Accelerate market entry

The CHF 150,000 from the Venture Kick funding will accelerate market entry: FireDrone is expanding its business development team, establishing sales and maintenance partnerships, driving forward product certifications and converting pilot projects into pre-orders in the target industries.

The founding team combines leading expertise in robotics, materials science and aeronautical engineering. Founders Dr. Fabian Wiesemüller and David Häusermann bring many years of experience in drone design and autonomous systems - a combination that perfectly positions FireDrone to redefine the standard for operations in extreme heat. The company's delight at the financial injection is correspondingly high: „Venture Kick was a big win for us,“ emphasizes co-founder Fabian Wiesemüller. „The program helped us turn an ambitious idea into a company, sharpen our business model with valuable expert feedback and open doors to partners and investors. Venture Kick offers much more than seed capital - it creates visibility, structure and momentum that significantly accelerate FireDrone's growth.“

Source: venturekick.ch

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/unternehmen-erhaelt-finanzspritze-fuer-die-entwicklung-hitzebestaendiger-drohnen/

White-collar crime represents a significant and growing challenge for Swiss companies. While traditional crimes such as fraud, embezzlement and corruption are still present, cybercrime has become the biggest growth market - with higher growth rates than fraud and money laundering combined. These are the findings of a recent study by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Particularly alarming: more than 80 percent of the experts surveyed expect very high growth rates in white-collar crime over the next twelve months. «White-collar crime not only causes considerable financial losses, but also undermines the trust of investors, customers and the public in the integrity of the companies concerned,» says Susanne Grau, author of the study and Head of Economic Criminology at the Institute of Financial Services Zug (IFZ) at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Artificial intelligence: both a blessing and a curse

The expectation that artificial intelligence (AI) will provide valuable support in the fight against white-collar crime is only partially confirmed by the results of the study. The picture is differentiated and shows AI to be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, many companies recognize the risks associated with the increased use of AI - for example, AI makes it significantly easier to invent personal profiles and places of origin or to generate payment receipts that have never been recorded. Around 67% of respondents consider the risk of being affected by AI fraud attempts to be high. Only around 28 percent consider these risks to be low. «This discrepancy shows that there is still considerable room for improvement in some companies when it comes to raising awareness of the potential threats posed by technological advances,» analyzes Susanne Grau.

Risks of white-collar crime: hardly systematically recorded

On the other hand, the potential of AI to reduce risk is also recognized: Around 45 percent of participants see the increased use of AI as more likely or clearly an opportunity to minimize white-collar crime risks and detect incidents more quickly. The fact that more than 40% of respondents stated that they had already been affected by AI-induced fraud attempts in their company is particularly revealing.

The inadequate preparation of many companies is also a major cause for concern: Only around half systematically record risks relating to white-collar crime. «Every second company lacks knowledge about existing and new risks,» says Susanne Grau.

Source: www.hslu.ch

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/internetbasierte-wirtschaftskriminalitaet-als-dominantes-risiko-fuer-schweizer-unternehmen/

Cyber attacks on the public sector are on the rise. State institutions, authorities and operators of critical infrastructure are increasingly being targeted by both cyber criminals and state-controlled groups. The threat situation is intensifying as many attacks now use combined vectors, outdated IT systems offer additional targets and geopolitical tensions increase the risk of targeted operations. In addition, there is often a lack of the necessary personnel, sufficient resources and the required skills to respond quickly and effectively.

Despite these challenges, expectations remain high. Citizens continue to expect government institutions to provide their digital services reliably and protect sensitive data. A successful attack would not only have financial consequences, but would also damage trust in the state's ability to act in the long term.

From reactive to proactive

For a long time, cyber defense in the public sector was predominantly reactive. Security incidents were documented, analyzed retrospectively and only then were measures initiated. In view of the current threat situation, this approach is no longer sufficient. What is needed is a systematic approach that recognizes threats at an early stage, classifies them in the appropriate context, assesses their relevance and translates them into concrete measures.

Threat intelligence solutions support this approach by automatically processing security-relevant information from various sources. This includes technical feeds, publicly available data, industry-specific information channels and content from hard-to-access digital environments such as the darknet. The platforms analyse this data in real time, prioritize it according to urgency and make it available for further processing.

By connecting to existing security systems such as SIEM or SOAR, relevant findings can be integrated directly into existing processes. This shortens response times, reduces the workload of analyst teams and makes more efficient use of resources. At the same time, contextualized information improves the basis for strategic decisions, for example when evaluating geopolitical developments, assessing the risk of supply chains or complying with regulatory requirements.

Proactive defense as a strategic advantage

Threat intelligence is becoming a key tool for securing the public sector's digital capacity to act in the long term. Numerous government institutions are already relying on AI-supported threat intelligence platforms to meet these requirements proactively and efficiently.

The automated evaluation of security-relevant information allows potential threats to be identified at an early stage, classified in the right context and prioritized according to relevance. Alerts can be sent to affected areas in a targeted manner before any actual damage occurs. At the same time, such an approach supports the implementation of national security strategies and compliance with regulatory requirements such as the NIS-2 Directive.

More information: Recorded Future

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/threat-intelligence-wird-im-oeffentlichen-sektor-unverzichtbar/

Together with the construction company MLN Mariano López Navarro, Nüssli Iberia built a temporary stadium for 20,000 spectators for the long-established Spanish football club Real Zaragoza - the first of its kind in Spain. The new building was constructed in record time: following the start of construction in March 2025, the stadium opened for play in June. The facility comprises three seated stands and a main stand with a total area of 120 × 80 meters. It is fully equipped for professional La Liga matches - including floodlights, scoreboards, changing rooms, press and VIP areas, catering and a merchandising store.

«This is the first time that a stadium of this type has been built in Spain,» explains Lluis Herrero, Managing Director of Nüssli Iberia. «In just over 100 days, we created a complete venue together with our partner - precisely planned, implemented on schedule and realized almost without a hitch.» The stadium will be used in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons and can then be completely dismantled and reused for future projects - a sustainable approach that offers both environmental and economic benefits.

AGF Aarhus continues to play in front of a home crowd In Aarhus (Denmark), Nüssli is also ensuring that fans and the club do not have to miss out on home games during the construction period of the new stadium. The temporary stadium of AGF Aarhus was completed in time for the start of the 2025/26 football season. The centerpiece is a premium grandstand with 3,200 seats, including 700 VIP seats, supplemented by three TV towers, a catering area and covered zones for optimum comfort.

After a construction period of just three weeks, Nüssli delivered a main stand, while the three other stands were already in place and had been used in previous matches. The main stand originally used did not meet the requirements, which is why Nüssli replaced it with a premium solution - with significantly higher quality and comfort. The main stand plays a central role, as it accommodates the sponsor areas and VIP guests and thus generates the most important revenue for the club. The modernization of the grandstand has not only improved the experience for visitors, but also strengthened the club's economic basis.

Until the new «Skovens Arena» opens in 2027, the temporary facility will provide a high-quality venue that guarantees sporting continuity for the club and a real stadium atmosphere for the fans.

SBB Cargo is making losses and has therefore been seen as a drag on the SBB Group for years. With his current reduction program, Alexander Muhm, Head of Freight Transport at SBB since 2023, underlines SBB's view of the future role of rail in Swiss freight transport: profitability is the only thing that counts, with more trucks on Swiss roads being deliberately accepted. However, this calculation contradicts the interests of the population and the goals of Swiss transport policy. This is why the management of SBB Cargo was awarded the «Devil's Stone» in front of its headquarters in Olten on Wednesday morning.

Hundreds of millions in subsidies and yet cutbacks

As part of the revision of the Freight Transport Act (GüTG) in spring 2025, politicians granted hundreds of millions of francs in subsidies to SBB Cargo to promote and strengthen rail freight transport in Switzerland over the next eight years. This is actually a clear mandate. Nevertheless, Muhm is still trying to reconcile two opposing positions: He is taking hundreds of millions of francs of taxpayers' money - intended to strengthen the railways - and at the same time declaring that this does not involve a mandate to shift national freight traffic and is cutting back. A nonsensical balancing act that Pro Alps sharply criticizes.

Motion calls for SBB Cargo services to be maintained

Voices are also becoming louder in politics that do not approve of the course taken by Muhm and Co. In the fall session, Eva Herzog, a member of the Council of States from Basel, submitted a motion 25.4147 aimed at securing SBB Cargo's performance level and maintaining the core network in combined freight transport. The motion was co-signed by important representatives of all parties in the Federal Council. Pro Alps will continue to campaign for the adoption of this motion.

Abusive prize awarded for 20 years

Pro Alps has been awarding the «Devil's Stone» for transportation nonsense for over 20 years. The parent company - SBB - already received it in 2018 for a façade made of German stone, which was processed in China and installed on an SBB building in Europaallee in Zurich. Today's presentation of the award by the President of Pro Alps, Nara Valsangiacomo, to the Head of Freight Transport at SBB Cargo, Alexander Muhm, therefore had a special flavor.

Nara Valsangiacomo, President of Pro Alps, says: «The fact that there is no transfer mandate for SBB Cargo is only half the truth. Why else would Parliament subsidize SBB Cargo if not to keep traffic on the rails and relieve the roads?» David Roth, board member of Pro Alps and member of the National Council's Transport Committee, adds: «At the beginning of this year, Parliament allocated hundreds of millions of francs in subsidies to strengthen Swiss rail freight transport. Instead, SBB Cargo is using the money to finance a downsizing program. That is highly problematic.»

Given the current geopolitical tensions and existing cyber threats, it is particularly worrying that cyber security is becoming less important for Swiss SMEs. The new representative study «SME Cybersecurity 2025» is based on a survey covering 98 % of Swiss SMEs and shows that many companies probably feel too secure and attach less importance to cyber threats compared to previous years.

Threat remains consistently high, but the response remains sluggish

However, the threats from cyberspace have not diminished. As in the previous year, one in 25 companies (4 %) was affected by a cyberattack in the last three years. 5 % were blackmailed and 4 % lost money through fraudulent emails. Overall, 88 % of SMEs see cybercrime as a serious problem. Nevertheless, only 24 % of decision-makers feel incentives or expectations from their professional environment to invest more in IT security - the urgency does not reach many.

Weak resilience, yet hardly a priority

Confidence in their own defenses is falling significantly: only 42 % of companies consider their protection to be sufficient in the event of an attack - a clear decline compared to 55 % in the previous year. The general feeling of IT security has also decreased slightly: 52 % of companies feel secure (2024: 57 %), while 9 % consider themselves insecure. Despite this development, the topic of cyber security continues to lose importance: for 28 % of SMEs, the topic is no longer a priority - a marked increase compared to 18 % in the previous year. «Either companies consider the consequences of cyber attacks to be too low, or they lack the know-how or resources to give the issue a higher priority. Politics, business and science all have a role to play here in raising awareness,» says Franziska Barmettler, CEO of digitalswitzerland.

Organizational measures are lagging behind

While over two thirds of companies use technical measures such as firewalls or software updates, organizational measures remain severely underdeveloped: Only 30 % of SMEs have an IT security concept, training courses or an emergency plan; only one in five companies even carry out regular IT security audits.

IT service providers are also critical of the situation: only 39 % consider their SME customers to be secure, while 14 % consider them to be inadequately protected. Accordingly, 84 % of IT service providers expect demand for security solutions to increase, while SMEs' willingness to invest continues to fall. Only 40 % are still planning to increase their cyber security measures in the next one to three years (2024: 48 %).

Resilience as the key to digital security

«The results of the study clearly show that resilience is the key to protecting Swiss SMEs from the growing threats of cybercrime. It's not enough to feel safe - companies need to be actively prepared. As an insurance partner, we see it as our task not only to offer financial protection, but also to strengthen our customers» digital resilience. Ideally, this is achieved through a combination of technology, organization and awareness," says Simon Seebeck, Head of the Cyber Risk Competence Centre at Die Mobiliar.

Appeal from the study partners

«The study partners are calling on SMEs to treat cyber security as a strategic issue. More awareness, targeted investments and the involvement of certified IT service providers are needed. The Swiss Digital Security Alliance ADSS particularly recommends the use of CyberSeal-certified partners,» says Andreas W. Kaelin, co-founder and Managing Director of the Swiss Digital Security Alliance ADSS. Marc K. Peter from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW and HES-SO Valais-Wallis recommends considering cyber security as a success factor in the digital transformation: «Similar to digital topics such as AI and the world of work 4.0, cyber security belongs on the agenda of all members of boards of directors and management boards.»

Source: Alliance Digital Security Switzerland

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/cybersicherheit-verliert-an-prioritaet-in-schweizer-kmu/

The healthcare sector is repeatedly the target of cyberattacks - partly because the high sensitivity of the data or the smooth 24/7 operation is the basis for high ransom and extortion sums for cybercriminals. Reason enough for the IT security service provider Sophos to compile the annual „State of Ransomware Healthcare 2025“ report. The results of the study are alarming: vulnerabilities are the most common cause of attacks and the number of extortions is at an all-time high. The study is based on the results of an independent survey conducted by Sophos among 3,400 IT/cybersecurity executives in 17 countries in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific, including 292 from the healthcare sector. 

Vulnerabilities and capacity issues are the main causes of attacks

For the first time in three years, respondents in the healthcare sector named exploited vulnerabilities as the most common technical cause of attacks (33%). This type of attack thus overtakes attacks due to compromised credentials (18%), which was the most common cause in 2023 and 2024. 

Several organizational factors contribute to healthcare providers falling victim to ransomware. At 42 percent, the most common reason is a lack of staff or an insufficient number of cyber security experts monitoring systems at the time of the attack. This is closely followed by known security vulnerabilities, which played a role in 41% of attacks.

Data encryption at five-year low, attack stops at five-year high 

Encryption of healthcare data by cybercriminals has fallen to its lowest level in five years. Only 34 percent of attacks resulted in data being encrypted - the second-lowest figure in this year's survey and less than half the 74 percent recorded in 2024. At the same time, the proportion of attacks that were stopped before encryption reached a five-year high of 53 percent. This suggests that healthcare organizations are stepping up their defenses. 

Extortion at an all-time high

However, attackers are adapting: The proportion of healthcare organizations affected by pure extortion attacks, where no data was encrypted but a ransom was demanded, tripled from just 4 percent in 2022/23 to 12 percent. This is the highest figure ever recorded in the study - presumably because medical data (e.g. patient data) is particularly sensitive.

Ransom payments fall, trust in backups dwindles

In 2025, only 36% of healthcare organizations paid the ransom demanded. This is a significant decline overall; in 2022, for example, this figure was still 61 percent. This makes this sector one of the four least likely to recover their data via ransom payments. At the same time, the use of backups for data reconstruction after an attack also fell to 51 percent. This could indicate greater resilience but also a lack of confidence in backup resilience.

Ransom demands, payments and recovery costs fall drastically

The level of ransoms in the healthcare sector has changed drastically: 

• The average ransom demand fell by 91 percent to 295,000 euros compared to 3.4 million euros in the previous year's study. 
• The amounts actually paid have fallen from just under 1.5 million euros to only 129,000 euros. This is the lowest figure of all the sectors included in the study. 

The decline reflects a sharp drop in receivables and payments in the multi-million euro range. At the same time, receivables in the mid-range of EUR 860,000 to 4.3 million increased. 

Average recovery costs (excluding ransom payments) are at their lowest level in three years, falling by 60 percent to around €877,000, compared to around €2.2 million in last year's study. Overall, the results indicate a more robust and efficient healthcare system that is more difficult to exploit, even if smaller cases are more common.

Pressure from management, fear, stress, feelings of guilt 

The survey also makes it clear that the encryption of data in the event of a ransomware attack also has a significant impact on cyber security teams in the healthcare sector. 39% of respondents stated that pressure from senior management has increased. Other impacts include increased anxiety or stress about future attacks (37%), changes in priorities or focus (37%) and feelings of guilt for not being able to prevent the attack (32%).

Source: Sophos

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ransomware-im-gesundheitswesen-erpressungen-auf-hoechststand-loesegeldforderungen-gesunken-stress-bei-den-teams/

With today's publication of the new figures, the gaming (incl. gaming genres) and POS (point of sale) categories were published for the first time. New messenger services, additional social media platforms, a streaming network and expanded podcast genres have also been integrated. These complement the previous genres of the study: press, cinema, TV, streaming, radio, podcasts, websites / apps, social media, messenger services, out-of-home / digital out-of-home, digital signage, public transport, direct mail and e-mail marketing.

The ongoing expansion of Mach Strategy is reflected in record-high usage figures among media agencies and underlines its increasing importance for the Swiss advertising market. In the last four years, access to the «Next>Level» data portal has increased significantly. In September 2025, they reached a new record with over 8,000 hits from agencies (rolling annual total) (see chart).

Valérie Goridis, Co-Head of Media Strategy at Webrepublic AG, says of the study: «The Mach Strategy is indispensable for us. It provides the basis for our integrated media strategies and helps us to optimize marketing budgets.»

Wemf's Mach Strategy is the central tool for campaign planning and the evaluation of media strategies. All Swiss media agencies use the study as a basis for strategic media planning. The national media study combines socio-demographic information and consumption data with media usage data. This makes it possible to precisely analyze which channels or channel combinations have the highest reach potential for a target group.

Benefits for the advertising market and media market For the advertising market, the MACH Strategy offers the possibility of creating cross-genre reach scenarios for advertising planning and thus supports the optimization of marketing strategy, media planning and budget deployment. For the media market, MACH Strategy makes it possible to present multimedia media brands and their usage profiles across the board and to locate them in the advertising market across genre boundaries.