The unpreparedness of Switzerland to counter an increasing number of cyber attacks on key installations has alarmed both IT experts and politicians.

The recent findings of Dreamlab Technologies, a cybersecurity firm, have revealed around 106,000 security gaps among 3.5 million servers in Switzerland, as cited by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. The firm considers approximately 50,000 of these loopholes as critically severe.

Over the past few years, Swiss municipalities, universities, and vital services like airports have witnessed a heightened number of hacker attacks.

Nicolas Mayencourt, Dreamlab’s head, has metaphorically described the situation as a sinking ship that requires collective efforts to seal the breaches, in his Sunday conversation with the NZZ am Sonntag.

Echoing similar concerns, politicians from diverse parties have highlighted the need for swifter action against the escalating cyber threats. For instance, Franz Grüter, a parliamentarian from the People’s Party, expressed his concern that the potential danger Switzerland is facing hasn’t even appeared on their radar yet.

The impending administrative changes suggest that starting next year, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) of Switzerland will be directly under the purview of a newly formed state secretariat for security within the defense ministry.

The NCSC’s annual budget is set to see a rise from CHF13.7 million to CHF14.5 million ($16.2 million), a move expected to fund four additional full-time positions, as mentioned in the newspaper.

Nevertheless, experts cited in the news article question if the increased budget and resources would suffice to combat the escalating number of attacks.