Trend Micro, one of the world's leading providers of cyber security solutions, has published new study results. These show that Companies are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen their cyber defenses, but are also increasingly expressing concern about the potential of this technology to increase their attack surface and create new risks.

AI in use for cyber defense

According to the study, 77% of Swiss companies (81% worldwide) are already using AI-based tools as part of their cybersecurity strategy, while a further 17% (16% worldwide) are actively considering their implementation. Almost all respondents (96% in Switzerland, 97% worldwide) are open to the use of AI in some form. 65% of Swiss respondents (52% worldwide) are already using it for important security processes such as automated asset discovery, risk prioritization and anomaly detection. Many managers are also hoping that AI will help them to improve their cyber security: For 42% of the companies surveyed in Switzerland and worldwide, AI and automation are the top priority for improving cyber security.

AI is also a risk: concerns are growing

However, the increasing spread of AI solutions also harbors considerable risks. An overwhelming 94 percent of Swiss companies (and 94 percent worldwide) believe that AI will have a negative impact on their cyber risks in the next three to five years. Two thirds (67% in Switzerland compared to only 53% globally) expect an increase in the scale and complexity of AI-driven attacks, which will force them to rethink and reorganize their existing cyber security strategies. The biggest concerns of Swiss companies regarding the use of AI include

• the risk of disclosing sensitive data (44 percent in Switzerland, 42 percent worldwide)
• the possibility of protected data being exploited by untrustworthy models (41 percent in Switzerland, 36 percent worldwide)
• Uncertainty about how data is processed and stored by AI systems (41 percent in Switzerland, 38 percent worldwide)
• the monitoring challenges posed by the increase in new endpoints and APIs (31 percent in Switzerland, 31 percent worldwide)
• the emergence of blind spots due to the spread of shadow IT (30 percent in Switzerland, 31 percent worldwide)
• Increased compliance pressure (30 percent in Switzerland, 33 percent worldwide)

"AI holds tremendous potential for strengthening cyber defenses, from faster anomaly detection to automating time-consuming tasks," said Rachel Jin, Chief Enterprise Platform Officer at Trend Micro. "But attackers are just as eager to use AI for their own purposes, and this is creating a rapidly changing threat landscape. Our research and real-world testing make it clear that cybersecurity must be built into AI systems from the start. There is simply too much at stake."

Source: Trend Micro

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/77-prozent-der-schweizer-unternehmen-setzen-ki-zur-cyberabwehr-ein/

Each jury member nominated two candidates in advance. From these, the Institute for Marketing and Customer Insights at the University of St. Gallen made a pre-selection and also created a profile of the candidates who made it into this initial selection, which served as the basis for the jury to assess their performance. The jury members then met at Admeira's premises to select the nominees. After discussions and voting, six favorites emerged.

Announcement of the winner(s)

On August 21, 2025, the winner will be announced and celebrated during the exclusive Award Night with invited guests at the Papiersaal in Zurich. More detailed information on the nominees, the jury and the voting process can be found on the website: cmo-of-the-year.ch to find.

The Serviceplan Group Switzerland, the entire sponsorship and the jurors warmly congratulate the nominees and are very much looking forward to the evening of the award ceremony.

Nutanix, a specialist in hybrid multicloud computing, has presented the results of the seventh edition of its annual Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey for the healthcare sector. The provider uses the global survey to measure the spread of cloud use in the industry. "In healthcare, every decision has a direct impact on patients - including decisions about how we evolve our technology stack," explains Jon Edward, Director IS Infrastructure Engineering at Legacy Health. "We looked very carefully at how we could responsibly integrate GenAI. This meant investing in an infrastructure that would allow us to support long-term innovation without compromising on privacy and security. We are committed to modernizing our systems to deliver better care, become more efficient and continue to live up to the trust patients place in us."

GenAI: Introduction at full speed

According to this year's report, healthcare leaders are rapidly adopting generative artificial intelligence (AI) - despite lingering concerns. Respondents from the healthcare sector cite the ability to integrate GenAI into existing IT infrastructure as the biggest hurdle (79 percent), closely followed by persistent healthcare data silos (65 percent) and stubborn challenges in developing cloud-native applications and containers (59 percent).

"The healthcare industry has been known to be slower to adopt new technologies. However, this is not the case with GenAI, which is being adopted much faster. This is likely due in large part to the ease of access to GenAI applications and tools," said Scott Ragsdale, Senior Director, Sales - Healthcare & SLED at Nutanix. "Despite the impressive adoption rate across the industry, concerns remain about the importance of protecting healthcare data. Virtually all healthcare organizations and institutions are using GenAI in one way or another. However, we are likely to see more widespread adoption when the root causes of privacy and security concerns are addressed."

Some important results

The survey participants from the healthcare industry provided information about GenAI implementations and trends, Kubernetes and containers as well as the operation of their business-relevant applications today and in the future. The key findings of this year's study include:

• The introduction and deployment of GenAI in healthcare requires a more comprehensive approach to data security. The industry representatives surveyed point to the considerable additional effort required to raise data security and governance to the level that is fundamentally necessary to successfully introduce and operate GenAI solutions. The biggest challenge in the use and expansion of GenAI in the industry are concerns about data protection and security when operating large language models (LLMs) with sensitive company data. In addition, 96 percent of industry respondents agree that their organization could do more to protect their GenAI models and applications. GenAI workloads will be a long-term challenge for many companies and institutions in the healthcare sector.
• Infrastructure modernization deserves priority in order to scale GenAI throughout the organization. Running modern applications at enterprise scale requires infrastructure solutions that can meet the essential requirements of complex data security, data integrity and resilience. Unfortunately, 99 percent of healthcare respondents admit to struggling with scaling GenAI workloads from development to production - with the biggest hurdle being integration into existing IT infrastructure. For this reason, healthcare IT leaders should pay greater attention to investing in modern infrastructure as a key component of successful GenAI initiatives.
• The introduction of GenAI-solutions is continuing unabated in the healthcare sector, although there are still hurdles to overcome. As far as the introduction of GenAI as such is concerned, the key figures are excellent. For example, 99 percent of the industry representatives surveyed say that their organization is already using GenAI applications and workloads. Most companies and institutions in the industry are convinced that they can increase productivity, automation and efficiency with the help of GenAI solutions.
• Currently, the application scenarios used in practice in the healthcare sector focus on GenAI-supported solutions for customer support and experience (e.g. in the form of chatbots) as well as code generation, whether automated or with the support of co-pilots. However, companies and institutions in the healthcare sector have identified a range of challenges and potential obstacles in the development and deployment of GenAI solutions. These include security and protection of patient data as well as scalability and complexity.
• Application containerization and Kubernetes deployments are on the rise across the healthcare sector. Container-based infrastructure and application development offers the potential for organizations to provide seamless and secure access to patient and business data in hybrid and multicloud environments. The containerization of applications is widespread in all industries and will also increase in the healthcare sector. In fact, 99% of the industry representatives surveyed said that their organization is already looking into the containerization of applications. The driving force behind this trend is likely to be the view shared by 92% of respondents in the healthcare sector that their organization benefits from the introduction of cloud-native applications and containers. These survey results suggest that the majority of IT leaders in the healthcare sector will be looking at how containerization fits into their strategies to extend existing and newly introduced workloads.

Source and further information: Nutanix

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/gesundheitssektor-modernisierung-der-it-infrastruktur-hinkt-einfuehrung-von-genai-hinterher/

Being human

Learning from evolution for the future.

• Kai Michel and Carel van Schaik
• Publisher: Rowohlt
• Publication year: 2023
• Pages: 384
• ISBN: 9783498003272

Current cultural critiques and social analyses lack the fundamental question: What is the human being? For bestselling authors Carel van Schaik and Kai Michel, one thing is clear: only the answer to this question will tell us why we are in a kind of permanent crisis in various areas of life today. From the perspective of biology and anthropology, the answer is that evolution has prepared us for a different life than the one we currently lead. With their evolutionary perspective, van Schaik and Michel shed new light on well-known diseases of civilization. Worth reading!

Collaboration in the flow

How to successfully bring flow to your team, projects and company with 10 tried-and-tested tools.

• Nadja Schnetzler and Laurent Burst
• Publisher: GABAL
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 215
• ISBN: 9783967392012

The flow of work and collaboration in organizations are repeatedly slowed down and disrupted by many factors. Unproductive meetings are annoying and small misunderstandings escalate into conflicts. Unfinished tasks pile up and cause delays. The authors believe that none of this is necessary. Work can be organized in such a way that it flows. They present ten tried-and-tested tools that help to create the desired flow. However, they also write that in order for these tools to be effective, the major and minor obstacles to flow need to be tackled.

Playbook Resonance

Find the emotions that really drive brands.

• Bernhard Fischer-Appelt
• Publisher: Murmann
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 215
• ISBN: 9783867748063

Brands must not only appeal to the mind, but also to people's emotions. Says advertising expert Bernhard Fischer-Appelt and takes us on an entertaining journey through the world of innovative brand experiences. There is just as much to learn from Taylor Swift as from the legendary techno club Berghain or the sports retailer Decathlon. Unfortunately, the broad selection of case studies comes at the expense of a more precise definition of what the "affective arrangement" is that should make brands tangible. Nevertheless, it is an amusing and inspiring read.

Committed to the future

Modern entrepreneurship for a country worth living in.

• Thomas M. Fischer
• Publisher: Westend
• Publication year: 2025
• Pages: 192
• ISBN: 9783864894831

Thomas M. Fischer is an entrepreneur himself - and wants this book to make you think: Why do we still define success in terms of growth, even though the world has long needed other answers? Fischer shows what potential lies in a value-oriented economy. He sees sustainability as an opportunity for companies, society and every individual. Fischer is convinced that life in a sustainable society will be better than many believe. An inspiring read for anyone thinking about the future of our economy and society.

From social media campaigns to non-profit campaigns, from corporate films to B2B magazines: a total of 93 outstanding content marketing projects in 32 categories have made it onto the shortlist for this year's Best of Content Marketing Awards, giving them the chance to win a gold award at the BCM event in Munich on October 9. Three of them come from Switzerland.

What makes this BCM vintage so special?

"Definitely the range!" says Olaf Wolff, Chairman of the Content Marketing Forum e.V. (CMF), which is organizing the award for the 23rd time. "The shortlist is a colorful mix of media forms, strategic approaches and storytelling approaches. What they have in common is that each project works across channels in some way and addresses its target group in a multidimensional way."

In which categories are Swiss works nominated?

"Two nominations are in the B2C category - for a content campaign and a magazine," reveals Guido Von Deschwanden, CMF Switzerland Board Member. "The third is in the new special award category Best of efficient Creation Excellence and thus represents a real future topic for the industry: How can we achieve creative excellence while working with maximum efficiency?"

Are trends emerging across countries?

"One trend is certainly that the majority of campaign approaches in content marketing now work with social media influencers in some form," says Peter Matz, BCM Representative on the CMF Board. "It is also striking how many content-strong event approaches are in competition. These include content-driven award concepts as well as gaming events in social media."

The shortlist is now available on the BCM website.

Joining forces for creativity

When two of the most influential voices in the communications and tech industry discuss the future of creativity and marketing at the Cannes Lions Festival, the industry listens. Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe, and Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, took to the stage together - and what was billed as a high-level talk turned into a lesson in leadership, optimism and strategic craft.

Even the setting made a statement: Narayen was honored as the first "Creative Champion of the Year" - a new award that recognizes those individuals who have made a lasting commitment to the needs of creatives. For Sadoun, Narayen is "the only tech CEO who has understood that creativity is not replaced by technology, but enhanced by it". Other tech companies, Sadoun said smugly, wanted to "eat up" the cages of creatives.

The creative core remains - even in AI times

Sadoun recalled his early visits to Cannes 30 years ago, when he spent hours watching films. Today, in the midst of a fragmented media landscape, it is more important than ever to develop creative ideas that prevail - across channels, emotionally, relevant. "If we forget that it's about the big idea, we become irrelevant," says Sadoun.

Narayen agreed: every technological breakthrough - from PostScript to mobile and cloud - has made creativity more accessible. The current AI push is nothing other than the next stage of this democratization. Adobe is specifically focusing on conversational interfaces that help creatives overcome the fear of the blank page - without marginalizing creative output. "It's not about automating creativity, it's about unleashing it."

Craftsmanship instead of hype

Both CEOs emphasized: Solid tools and strategic clarity are needed. Narayen presented Adobe's AI model architecture in four layers - data, models, agents and interfaces - and emphasized that Adobe only uses IP-secured data. This protects the rights of creatives and ensures trust.

Sadoun gave a concrete insight into everyday life at Publicis: AI is used to empower talent - for example, to enable a young creative director in Shanghai to work on the Super Bowl. People remain the center of attention. "Our industry has the potential to combine technology, data, media and ideas in a unique way - that is our superpower."

Orientation in the platform jungle

Key keywords of the talk: personalization and differentiation. Narayen emphasized that Adobe covers the entire customer journey - from acquisition to customer retention. It is clear that the data belongs to the customer, not Adobe. Sadoun, on the other hand, warned of the limitations of closed platforms - the so-called "walled gardens". Without open architectures, marketing would lose its power for brand management. According to Sadoun, the future lies in an interplay of platform, service and creative excellence.

An appeal for courage, emotion and young leadership

In a personal digression, Sadoun acknowledged the youth: "We have to let them take the lead - new ideas need space." Narayen added that creativity needs to be linked to business objectives more than ever before, for example by changing the language used in companies.

What creatives need now - Sadoun's appeal to the industry

Despite all the love of technology and digital promises, one thing remains clear for Sadoun: "In the end, it's the big idea that counts." And this is precisely where his appeal to creative professionals comes in. Anyone who wants to survive in the age of AI, platform economy and attention competition must have the courage to stand up for strong concepts again - cross-channel, well thought-out, with impact.

Sadoun's top tips for creative excellence in complex times:

1. Don't get bogged down in individual measures. Good ideas are not one-touch wonders, but must be able to unfold through entire media ecosystems.

2. Uses technology as a lever, not as a substitute. AI can help to give more people access to good ideas - but it should never be the source of the idea.

3. Remains uncomfortable. Sadoun warns against creative complacency and cautions: "If we become lazy and forget that everything starts with a resounding idea, we will go under."

4. Works like platform architects. More than ever, creatives need to understand how content works across platforms - not only in terms of design, but also strategically.

5. Get out of your comfort zone. Sadoun emphasizes that creativity often arises where there is a crunch - not in the algorithm, but in the real, emotional moment.

Shantanu Narayen also addresses creative professionals with an impulse: "Democratization does not mean arbitrariness." Especially in the age of conversational interfaces, it is important to preserve your own signature. AI is a stepping stone - not a destination.

Sadoun posed the most important question at the end: "How do we manage to carry the energy of this festival into everyday life on Monday?" A question that acts as a mirror towards the industry - and whose answer perhaps lies in the attitude of both CEOs: Creativity is not a nostalgic ideal, but a living muscle that needs to be exercised - with technology, but never without heart.

About Arthur Sadoun
Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe. The Frenchman started out as an entrepreneur in Chile before joining TBWA in 1999. After holding positions at Publicis Conseil and Publicis Worldwide, he became CEO of the Groupe in 2017. Under his leadership, Publicis became the leading global player for business transformation. In 2022, he made his cancer public and launched the "Working with Cancer" initiative.

About Shantanu Narayen
Chair & CEO, Adobe. Narayen led Adobe through its transformation from a software provider to an experience platform. Under his aegis, cloud and AI were strategically anchored. Narayen was named the first "Creative Champion of the Year" in 2025 for his contribution to the democratization of creative tools and the connection between art and technology.

The 22 UVG insurers in Switzerland registered around 915,000 accidents and occupational illnesses in 2024. This corresponds to a slight increase compared to the previous year (+0.7%). The 2.0% decline in occupational accidents and illnesses to 280,000 cases is more than compensated for by the 1.7% increase in leisure accidents to 618,000. These UVG statistics do not include accidents involving children, schoolchildren, students, housewives and househusbands, the self-employed and pensioners. Essentially, therefore, it covers employees and apprentices aged between 15 and 65 who are permanently resident in Switzerland. These people make up a good half of the resident population.

Differences between the insurers

A differentiated picture emerges between the accident insurers: at Suva, the number of occupational accidents and occupational illnesses fell by 3.6%, while the number of leisure accidents increased by 2.1%. In contrast, the other private insurers, which are mainly active in the service sector, saw a slight increase of 0.8% in occupational accidents, while the increase in leisure accidents was 1.4%. These differences reflect the different insured structures and activity profiles in the respective insured collectives.

The current costs for 2024 are not yet fully known. In the previous year, insurance benefits amounted to around CHF 5.5 billion, mainly for medical costs (medical and therapeutic benefits), daily allowances and provisions for disability and survivors' pensions. At 63.5 percent, leisure accidents accounted for the largest share of this, with 33.3 percent attributable to occupational accidents and illnesses, 3.1 percent to accidents involving unemployed persons and 0.1 percent to accidents involving persons on IV measures.

Demographics are changing the risk of accidents

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/unfallstatistik-915000-unfaelle-im-jahr-2024-verzeichnet/

Whether it's dubious emails, unsecured Wi-Fi connections or suspicious websites, one of the golden rules of everyday working life is: "Don't click on anything." So much for the theory - but reality shows that an increasing awareness of cyber threats does not necessarily mean that office workers behave with the necessary caution.

Five questionable behaviors increase cyber threat

A survey conducted by Sharp among a total of 1,001 Swiss employees in SMEs revealed that almost two thirds of respondents (60 percent) engage in risky IT-related behavior in their day-to-day work that they conceal from their superiors. The five most frequently mentioned questionable behaviors are

• Irregular updating of company laptops (17 percent)
• Logging into unsecured WLAN networks with company end devices (16 percent)
• Sharing memes with colleagues on Whatsapp (16 percent)
• Downloading unauthorized software on company laptops (15 percent)
• Not logged out of the work account at the end of the working day (15 percent)

As awareness of cyber threats has increased overall, the results suggest that security breaches are happening less out of ignorance than out of convenience or indifference.

The survey also shows that companies are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks on Friday afternoons, with almost one in four respondents (24 percent) saying they were most likely to make a cybersecurity mistake at the end of the working week. More than a third (37 percent) cited stress due to high workloads as a reason for increased likelihood of error.

Cybersecurity? Let the others do it!

Despite growing concerns about cyber threats, many respondents do not believe that it is their responsibility to ensure their company's cyber security. In fact, 26 percent of employees surveyed in Switzerland believe that their company's IT department - and not they themselves - should take care of everything to do with this issue. 16% of Swiss employees even stated that they would not care if their company was hacked - the highest figure in Europe compared to all other countries surveyed in the study.

Overall, the responses suggest that employees need additional motivation and resources to keep cyber security in mind in their day-to-day work - especially just before the weekend or when workloads are high.

Raise awareness and train

According to IBM the cost of a cybersecurity breach in 2024 was $4.88 million - a 10% increase on the previous year and the highest total to date. Given these risks and costs, organizations need to ensure their teams have the right resources and knowledge to protect their digital ecosystems.

"Cybersecurity is not just about protecting companies, but also about protecting the people behind the company data," says François Müller, COO Sharp Electronics Switzerland. "Employees must understand that they themselves play a crucial role in cyber security in their respective companies, that the issue is the responsibility of each individual and that they must therefore act carefully. Companies must equip their employees with the right tools and support them with appropriate training so that they recognize cyber threats early on and know how to deal with them appropriately. The best technical protective measures are of little use if the human security risk is not fully considered and integrated."

Source and further information: www.sharp.ch

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/wenn-mitarbeiter-zur-cyberbedrohung-werden/

At this year's delegates' meeting of Swiss Marketing, Stefan Hoher was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors. Simon Albisser, Katharina Mäder and Ubaldo Piccone were bid farewell after they had previously announced their resignation. The Board of Directors also provided information on current activities and objectives and expressed its thanks to all those involved.

The Board of Directors unanimously elected Stefan Hoher as a new member, who will contribute valuable expertise as an experienced Head of Communications. At the same time, Board members Simon Albisser, Katharina Mäder and Ubaldo Piccone were bid farewell after deciding to step down this year.

Both Simon Albisser and Katharina Mäder have supported Swiss Marketing with great commitment over many years and have played a key role in important developments. Ubaldo Piccone also provided many valuable impulses during his one-year commitment. Swiss Marketing would like to express its sincere thanks for this commitment. The remaining members of the Board of Directors, consisting of Dietger Löffler, Chris Pozzoli and Beat Schlumpf, as well as Managing Director Marco Ancora, who has been in office since February, were unanimously discharged by the delegates.

During the course of the meeting, those present were also given an outlook on the current goals for the further development of the association. In constructive discussions, the Board of Directors shared its plans with those present. The evening concluded with a stand-up dinner in a good atmosphere and lively discussions.

Swiss Marketing is the leading professional and trade association for specialists in the fields of marketing and sales. It brings together the expertise of around 2000 specialists and managers from various sectors. Swiss Marketing also organizes the professional and advanced professional examinations for marketing and sales.

Switzerland, with its numerous mountains, bodies of water and exposed location in the center of Europe, is highly exposed to natural events. Expanded and growing settlement areas and infrastructures - some in high-risk locations - increase the resulting financial risk for policyholders and insurers.

Accumulation of natural damage in the last 10 years

In the public and media perception, the last few years in particular seem to have been characterized by severe weather. However, a look at the long-term data series shows that loss-intensive years occur at regular intervals. However, the conspicuous accumulation of natural hazard events in the years 2021 to 2024 is unusual in this form. This observation is supported by statistics compiled by Helvetia based on internal storm and damage reports on natural hazard losses in Switzerland. Between 1990 and 2024, the frequency of the most important natural events as well as the annual loss amount and the development of the average costs per event category were recorded. 

The total number of severe weather events remained largely constant until the mid-2010s - apart from the particularly lossy years of 1999 (storm Lothar) and 2005 (widespread flooding in the Alpine region). In the last ten years (2015-2024), however, there has been a significant increase in both the number of individual events and the cost of damage. The number of reported claims rose by 126% compared to the first decade (1995-2004). The financial expenses for damage repair increased by 133% in the same period.

Number of natural hazard events and their costs on the rise

When looking at the individual causes of damage, it is noticeable that the number of the most important natural events - such as storms, floods, hail, landslides and rockfall - has increased across the board. The increase is least noticeable in the case of floods and inundations: Despite the high media presence of such events, there has only been an increase of 26% over the last ten years. The volume of damage rose by 33 percent in the same period. The main reason for this is primarily the increase in the value of insured buildings and goods. At the same time, the investments made by the federal government, cantons and local authorities - several billion francs in flood protection since 2005 - have had an effect: they have prevented far greater damage. Nevertheless, floods and inundations were responsible for around a quarter of the damage caused in Switzerland between 2015 and 2024.

Hail as the primary cost driver

The trend in hail damage is particularly striking - both for individual and major events. The number of reported hail damage claims rose by 366% in the last ten years compared to the reference period, and the amount of damage even increased by 490%. With a share of over 51% of all claims paid by Helvetia between 2015 and 2024, hail has become the primary cost driver in the area of natural hazards in Switzerland. For Patrick Rohner, Head of the Non-life Claims Center at Helvetia Switzerland, this development cannot be explained solely by more frequent hail events: "In addition to the increased frequency and intensity of hail events, the increasing size of the hailstones is primarily responsible for the exponentially growing loss amounts." According to Rohner, another factor is the increased value of the vehicles and buildings affected, as well as the structural investments that have been ongoing for around ten years - in solar systems, for example.

In the areas of storm and landslide/rockfall/rockslide, the number of damage reports also increased compared to the two observation periods - by 38% and 24% respectively. It is worth noting that in both categories, the amount of damage has increased significantly more than the number of events: The amount of damage caused by storms increased by 50 percent, and in the landslide/rockfall/rockslide category by as much as 72 percent.

¹⁾ Development between the comparative period 1995 to 2004 and the comparative period 2015 to 2024.

²⁾ Storm, rockfall, landslide, snowslide, snow pressure, avalanche, high water/flooding, hail, wind.

Connection with climate change

According to Adrian Kollegger, Head of Non-Life and member of the Executive Management of Helvetia Switzerland, there is an obvious link between claims development and climate change: "We expect claims sums to increase further in the future as a result of climate change. The ongoing warming is not only leading to more frequent and more intense storms; the melting of the permafrost in the Alps in particular is fundamentally changing the threat situation. Instead of classic flood events, surface events such as landslides, debris flows, rockfalls and rockfalls will increasingly occur."

Increasing urbanization, the expansion of infrastructure and the development of new areas will further increase the risks in the coming years - both in Switzerland and worldwide.

Damage modeling must continue to evolve

So far, the insurance industry has been able to anticipate future developments through sound modeling and manage premiums accordingly within the regulatory framework set by FINMA (ES_AVO). Models for natural hazard losses are continuously optimized tools that can be used to quantify potential losses. They combine historical data on natural hazards with information on the exposure and vulnerability of people, buildings, infrastructure and other assets in order to assess the impact of potential loss events and disasters.

However, relying solely on historical data is no longer sufficient to design sustainable insurance cover for extreme events. Predictive models, the use of artificial intelligence and the global exchange of knowledge between insurers and reinsurers are becoming increasingly important for this challenging task. 

Future threat scenarios must be incorporated even more strongly into risk modeling in order to ensure risk-appropriate and therefore sustainable premiums for insurers and customers, particularly in the unregulated area of natural hazards. In addition, policyholders, insurers and the state will have to invest even more in prevention and advice in the future. Personal support and advice from local branches will continue to play a central role in this. They know the damage potential of their respective region best and are available quickly in the event of a claim - for example with in-depth damage analysis, the provision of hail drive-ins or unbureaucratic immediate assistance.

Source: Helvetia

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/naturschaeden-versicherung-praesentiert-zahlen-und-fakten-zu-den-wichtigsten-bedrohungen/

According to the recently published "State of Ransomware 2025" report by Sophos, almost half of the companies surveyed have already paid a ransom. The average amount of the ransom is around 1 million US dollars (€ 869,591). What is new is that 53 percent of companies have negotiated a lower amount than the original demand. Nevertheless, this is the second-highest rate of payment for ransom demands in six years (the highest level was 56% in the 2024 report). In the latest report, the willingness of victims in Germany (63%) and Switzerland (54%) to pay was above average.

Companies negotiate ransom payments

Despite the high percentage of companies that paid the ransom, more than half (53%) paid less than originally demanded by the cybercriminals. The affected companies in Germany (47%) and especially in Switzerland (65%) also showed their negotiating skills with the cybercriminals and also paid lower amounts than originally demanded.

The average ransom demand fell by a third between the reports of the last two years from an international perspective. At the same time, the average ransom payment fell by 50 percent. This development shows that companies are increasingly successful in minimizing the impact of ransomware attacks.

Ransom demands and payments vary greatly by country

Worldwide, the average ransom demand (median) was 1,324,439 million dollars (€ 1,159,905). At country level, however, the median demand amounts vary greatly; here are some examples:

• 600 thousand dollars (€ 525 thousand) in Germany
• 643 thousand dollars (€ 563 thousand) in France
• 4.12 million dollars (€ 3.61 million) in Italy
• 5.37 million dollars (€ 4.7 million) in the UK
• 2.0 million dollars (€ 1.75 million) in the USA

The ransom sums paid regionally in the sample countries amount to:

• 412 thousand dollars (€ 361 thousand) in Germany
• 232 thousand dollars (€ 203 thousand) in France
• 2.06 million dollars (€ 1.8 million) in Italy
• 5.20 million dollars (€ 4.55 million) in the UK
• 1.50 million dollars (€ 1.53 million) in the USA

Vulnerabilities and scarcity of resources are significant risk factors

For the third time in a row, exploited vulnerabilities were the most common technical cause of attacks. 40% of all ransomware victims surveyed stated that the attackers exploited a vulnerability they were unaware of. In Germany and Switzerland, this situation is even worse at 45% and 42% respectively. This illustrates the ongoing difficulties companies have in recognizing and securing their attack surface.

63% of the companies surveyed worldwide confirm that resource problems were a factor in their falling victim to the attack. Companies in Germany (67%) and Switzerland (72%) are even above the international average in this respect. Globally, a lack of specialist knowledge was cited as the most important operational cause in companies with more than 3,000 employees. Companies with 251 to 500 employees were most likely to struggle with a lack of human resources or capacity.

Internal and external resources are crucial

"In 2025, most organizations see the risk of falling victim to a ransomware attack as a part of everyday business. The good news is that thanks to this increased awareness, many organizations are equipping themselves with additional resources to limit the damage. This includes hiring incident response specialists who can not only reduce ransomware payments, but also speed up recovery from an attack and even stop attacks in progress," said Chester Wisniewski, Field CISO at Sophos. "A real game changer in the fight against ransomware is focusing on the root causes of the attack potential. These include, above all, exploited vulnerabilities, a lack of transparency regarding the attack surface in the company and too few resources. We are seeing that more and more companies are realizing that they need help and are turning to MDR (Managed Detection and Response) services to defend themselves. This cybersecurity service, in conjunction with proactive security strategies such as multi-factor authentication and patching, makes a decisive contribution to preventing ransomware in the first place."

Best practices for effective protection against ransomware and other cyberattacks:

• Taking action to eliminate common technical and operational causes of attacks, such as exploited vulnerabilities. Tools such as Sophos Managed Risk can help companies to determine their risk profile and minimize their risk in a targeted manner.
• Ensure that all endpoint devices (including servers) are equipped with special anti-ransomware protection.
• Provision and testing of an incident response plan. Good backups and regular practicing of data recovery play an important role in this.
• 24/7 monitoring and detection. If companies do not have the necessary internal resources, trusted Managed Detection and Response (MDR) providers can help to meet these requirements.

Source: Sophos

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/ransomware-fast-jedes-zweite-unternehmen-zahlt-oft-nach-verhandlung/

The members of Leading Swiss Agencies (LSA) elected Claudia Ziltener (thjnk Zurich), Daniel Jörg (Team Farner) and Pascal Winkler (Publicis Groupe Switzerland) to the Board of Directors at their meeting on Wednesday, June 25 at the Razzia in Zurich.

"I am delighted to be involved in the association that showed me the way into the industry. In particular, I would like to promote partnership-based cooperation between agencies and clients as well as the promotion of young talent in our industry. The latter is particularly close to my heart, as I was able to experience for myself how valuable honest support can be and how enriching it is to work with young talents who will carry our industry into the future," says Claudia Ziltener, member of the management team at thjnk Zurich.

Daniel Jörg, Chief Innovation Officer at Team Farner, adds: "We need to become bolder and more visible as an industry. I want to work on the LSA Board to strengthen our self-image as agencies, make our services more visible and reposition the value of creative communication - for more impact, more pride and more future."

"I am involved in the LSA because I believe that creative excellence comes from the interaction of all disciplines. As a strategist, I see it as my task not only to provide guidance, but also to empower everyone involved to make their contribution to a strong industry with a shared impact," says Pascal Winkler, Chief Strategy Officer of Publicis Groupe Switzerland.

Mark Burow (formerly of Dentsu Creative DACH) and Pablo Koerfer (formerly of Farner Consulting) were duly dismissed from the Board after eight and two years respectively. The LSA would like to thank both of them for their commitment and many years of service to the association and the industry.

Review and insight in a new form

A fully digital annual report was presented to members for the first time. This provides a transparent and clear overview of the LSA year in figures, our events and the LSA network. The report can be viewed online.