Switzerland has been ranked ninth in Europe and 22nd globally for cyberattack frequency during the first half of 2025, according to the sixth Microsoft Digital Defense Report. Approximately 3.3 percent of all European organizations impacted by malicious cyber activity were Swiss, meaning around three out of every 100 affected European organizations are located in Switzerland.
The report highlights key trends in cybercrime: at least 52 percent of attacks worldwide were motivated by ransomware or extortion, while only four percent focused solely on espionage. Identity-based attacks surged 32 percent in the first half of 2025, with more than 97 percent targeting passwords. In 80 percent of incidents investigated by Microsoft security teams last year, attackers aimed to steal data for financial gain.
Critical sectors such as hospitals, schools, municipalities, and transit systems experienced real-world consequences, including delayed emergency care and disrupted public services. Both attackers and defenders increasingly rely on AI—cybercriminals use it to automate phishing and create synthetic content, while security teams deploy AI-powered tools to detect and respond to threats faster.
Nation-state actors from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea continue to target sensitive sectors, often blending their operations with criminal ecosystems. The report covers trends from July 2024 to June 2025, showing that cybercrime is growing in scale and sophistication, driven by financial motives and enabled by automation and AI.
“The latest data sends a clear signal: organizations must tighten identity controls, patch critical systems with urgency, and regularly validate their incident response plans,” said Marc Holitscher, National Technology Officer at Microsoft Switzerland. “Cyber resilience is no longer a choice — it’s a fundamental requirement for every organization, in every sector.”
Microsoft processes over 100 trillion security signals daily, screens five billion emails for malware and phishing, blocks approximately 4.5 million new malware attempts, and analyzes 38 million identity risk detections. Its Secure Future Initiative collaborates with public and private sectors to prevent cybercrime and promotes international rules for responsible internet use.
Organizations can take immediate action by implementing phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, which blocks over 99 percent of identity-based attacks, even when attackers have the correct passwords.
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