Review Swiss Cyber Security Days 2020
Almost 2,700 people attended the Swiss Cyber Security Days 2020 (SCSD), which recently took place at the Forum Fribourg. With an increase of 20% in the number of visitors compared to the previous year, 70 top-class speakers and 120 exhibitors, the result exceeded the expectations of the organisers.
With their second edition, the Swiss Cyber Security Days established itself as the reference platform for cybersecurity in Switzerland. "Apart from the international participants, the origin of the visitors - 50% from German-speaking Switzerland, 40% from French-speaking Switzerland and 10% from Italian-speaking Switzerland - reflects the national character of our event," says Béat Kunz, CEO of SCSD. Once again, we have succeeded in building bridges across the cyber-Rösti divide."
The SCSD want to contribute to the controlled and secure development of digitisation. In a world where more and more objects are interconnected, informatics is becoming a critical infrastructure. At the presentations in the forum programme, nationally and internationally renowned experts spoke on a wide range of topics such as hyperconnectivity, 5G, the train of the future and the Internet of Things.
Companies like IWC and Maersk have experienced major cyber attacks. The fact that they share their experiences at the SCSD promotes exchange between different players facing the same problems. Moreover, this dialogue can help find solutions to protect companies and brands. The same applies to blue light organisations such as the army, the police and hospitals, all of which are represented in the SCSD.
Training the cyber specialists of tomorrow
As the most important innovation of the 2020 edition, the SCSD placed a special focus on training and innovation. Switzerland currently has a shortage of around 40,000 cybersecurity experts. "The creation of adequate training courses is crucial," explains Doris Fiala, President of the SCSD. "Cybercrime has already caused financial damage of CHF 5 billion in Switzerland, and the risk is increasing every day." Béat Kunz adds, "This year we have offered a special Education and Innovation Pavilion. By bringing young people and universities together, we hope to contribute to the education of young Swiss talent." As part of the free programme for students, 300 people took the opportunity to discover the various Swiss universities and universities of applied sciences on the Cyber Education Stage and to meet innovative start-ups in the Swiss Pavilion for Cyber Innovation, which was organised in collaboration with Innosuisse.
The SCSD are also tackling international issues. An international panel in collaboration with the World Economic Forum's Centre for Cybersecurity (C4C) brought together Sir Rob Wainwright, Senior Partner at Deloitte and former Director of Europol; Andy Powell, CISO at Maersk; Alois Zwinggi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and C4C Director; Monique J. Morrow, President of The Humanized Internet and the Vetri Foundation; and SCSD President Doris Fiala. The speakers discussed opportunities for global cybersecurity cooperation and the opportunities and risks of international digital connectivity. (Source: SCSD)
The SCSD will be held for the third time in 2021, on 10 and 11 March 2021 at the Forum Fribourg.
