SISA strengthens cybersecurity for Switzerland
In September, the Swiss Internet Security Alliance celebrated its 10th anniversary and unveiled its plans for the future.
On 4 September 2024, the Swiss Internet Security Alliance (SISA) celebrated its 10th anniversary. The vision: to make Switzerland the most secure Internet country in the world. Originally founded by ten strong organisations from the financial, telecom and Internet sectors, SISA plans to expand not only its membership but also the phishing feed. This is the association's response to the growing number of cyber threats.
From an initiative to a strong alliance
The anniversary celebrations began with a look back at the founding of the association in 2014, when Rita Frei, Security Operations Analyst at Sunrise, was involved in setting it up. She emphasised the important role played by the private sector in the creation of the association. Originally an initiative of Melani, now the National Cyber Security Centre, it was ultimately founded by Credit Suisse, Hostpoint, Postfinance, Raiffeisen, Sunrise, Swisscom, Switch, UBS, UPC Cablecom and Viseca, without the involvement of the federal government. SISA has grown considerably over the past ten years. Katja Dörlemann, current SISA president and security awareness specialist at Switch, is proud of the association's new members - including one from French-speaking Switzerland: Antenne Région Valais romand, Cyon, Police Canton Solothurn, Quad9, SBB and ZHAW. "But there need to be more," she adds. Interested organisations from all over Switzerland are therefore invited to contact her directly if they are interested in becoming members.
Today, SISA is an established institution in the field of phishing protection and awareness campaigns. Its combined expertise is now available on the iBarry Internet security platform. "iBarry's and SISA's commitment to awareness was born out of the idea of tackling the problem together and addressing the population and end users with one voice instead of many," explains Katja Dörlemann.
Increased cyber security with phishing feed and awareness
A highlight of the event was the presentation of existing and new collaborative projects. For example, the Quad9 phishing feed has now been integrated into the SISA feed. This helps companies to identify and block malicious URLs at an early stage. The iBarry platform provides tools and content to raise awareness among the public and businesses. The material on iBarry is published under a Creative Commons licence and is therefore freely accessible and usable by everyone. All materials can be used by third parties to promote a culture of cyber security. Katja Dörlemann emphasised that the cooperation of all members and the joint efforts make a significant contribution to making Switzerland the safest internet country in the world.
Finally, Katja Dörlemann gave an outlook on future activities. The association wants its members to benefit even more from the cooperation. A new iBarry newsletter will be published three times a year, providing up-to-date information on new developments and topics. "Together with our members and partners, we are shaping a secure digital future for Switzerland. Protecting against cyber threats is a challenging task that we can only successfully tackle together".
