Hackers obtain data of over 100,000 federal employees in Publica breach

The cyberattack that hit Publica, the Swiss federal pension fund, in late September has turned out to be more serious than initially reported. The hacker group Akira obtained the personal data of practically all federal employees, both those still in service and those who have already left the administration. More than 100,000 people are affected in total.

Those whose data was stolen include officials, judges, intelligence agents and former federal councillors. The attack hit an external supplier of Publica and had already been known for a few weeks, but its real scale only came to light on Tuesday, through reporting by newspapers of the Tamedia group.

The cybercriminals stole names, dates of birth, addresses, salary data and phone numbers belonging to those affected. The stolen information also includes details about partners and children. Akira is now demanding a ransom payment and threatening to publish or sell the data if it is not paid.

Publica has reportedly not yet informed the people affected about this ransom demand. Meanwhile, some of the people whose data was stolen have already been targeted by scam attempts.

The RUAG precedent

Akira is a cybercriminal group already active in Switzerland, where it has also targeted several private companies. A year ago, federal authorities had urged Swiss companies not to give in to hackers' ransom demands. A few months later, however, RUAG, a company owned by the Confederation, decided to pay, after Akira targeted its US subsidiary.