Trend Micro, one of the world's leading providers of cyber security solutions, has published new study results. These show that Companies are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen their cyber defenses, but are also increasingly expressing concern about the potential of this technology to increase their attack surface and create new risks.

AI in use for cyber defense

According to the study, 77% of Swiss companies (81% worldwide) are already using AI-based tools as part of their cybersecurity strategy, while a further 17% (16% worldwide) are actively considering their implementation. Almost all respondents (96% in Switzerland, 97% worldwide) are open to the use of AI in some form. 65% of Swiss respondents (52% worldwide) are already using it for important security processes such as automated asset discovery, risk prioritization and anomaly detection. Many managers are also hoping that AI will help them to improve their cyber security: For 42% of the companies surveyed in Switzerland and worldwide, AI and automation are the top priority for improving cyber security.

AI is also a risk: concerns are growing

However, the increasing spread of AI solutions also harbors considerable risks. An overwhelming 94 percent of Swiss companies (and 94 percent worldwide) believe that AI will have a negative impact on their cyber risks in the next three to five years. Two thirds (67% in Switzerland compared to only 53% globally) expect an increase in the scale and complexity of AI-driven attacks, which will force them to rethink and reorganize their existing cyber security strategies. The biggest concerns of Swiss companies regarding the use of AI include

• the risk of disclosing sensitive data (44 percent in Switzerland, 42 percent worldwide)
• the possibility of protected data being exploited by untrustworthy models (41 percent in Switzerland, 36 percent worldwide)
• Uncertainty about how data is processed and stored by AI systems (41 percent in Switzerland, 38 percent worldwide)
• the monitoring challenges posed by the increase in new endpoints and APIs (31 percent in Switzerland, 31 percent worldwide)
• the emergence of blind spots due to the spread of shadow IT (30 percent in Switzerland, 31 percent worldwide)
• Increased compliance pressure (30 percent in Switzerland, 33 percent worldwide)

"AI holds tremendous potential for strengthening cyber defenses, from faster anomaly detection to automating time-consuming tasks," said Rachel Jin, Chief Enterprise Platform Officer at Trend Micro. "But attackers are just as eager to use AI for their own purposes, and this is creating a rapidly changing threat landscape. Our research and real-world testing make it clear that cybersecurity must be built into AI systems from the start. There is simply too much at stake."

Source: Trend Micro

The integrated capabilities of AI agents enable the processing of large amounts of data, real-time analyses and predictions as well as the summarization and presentation of information. As a result, they are fundamentally revolutionizing the way financial transactions are conducted. Finance has evolved into a dynamic, real-time and continuous field. In AI-driven finance, automated workflows, predictive insights and collaborative actions are possible, leading to unprecedented efficiency and deeper business understanding. Finance teams can now focus on operational monitoring, business optimization and delivering reliable, actionable insights.

A paradigm shift: AI agents and the future of finance

AI agents combine traditional and generative AI to provide multidimensional capabilities that can execute end-to-end processes with minimal human intervention. These agents do more than individual AI software as they replace large parts of traditional, labor-intensive workflows and introduce new functions.

Oracle is a driving force behind this change, developing a range of AI agents that are redefining the hands-on work of finance today. By combining different AI agents, CFO teams can achieve higher levels of productivity and efficiency than ever before. CFOs can achieve strategic goals more proactively by accessing AI-powered insights, forecasts and recommendations in real time. In doing so, they utilize comprehensive data sets that were previously unavailable to them. Embedded AI agents could become the backbone of finance and continue to evolve by regularly integrating new automation and optimization capabilities. The era of iterative financial transformations with point solutions and additional software could soon be a thing of the past.

The basis is the Agent for document conversion from Oracle, which automates data capture and document creation for billing, accounting and data management. This includes processes such as breaking down expense receipts, processing supplier invoices, bank reconciliations and creating journal entries. Using the generative AI component, the agent can process data from different formats and languages so that it can deal with everyday realities, such as when a new trading partner sends in an order in a completely different format. The agent is continuously improved so that data accuracy and quality is increased through automation and little or no additional configuration is required. This advanced feature increases productivity and improves the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of data.

This allows finance teams to gain a new perspective based on a broader data set than ever before. Finance teams use their knowledge and expertise to develop optimal recommendations and actions. At the same time, they contribute to the continuous improvement of AI agents and data to ensure the highest quality and reliable results. In this way, finance can become more business-oriented, more action-oriented and, above all, more valuable. Crucially, CFOs do not need data scientists to use these tools effectively.

This base of AI agents is growing at a rapid pace. In combination with a SaaS platform that provides up-to-date and company-specific data, we believe that new opportunities for financial organizations will continue to arise.

Finance teams and AI: a strong partnership

The role of finance teams will evolve dramatically in this age of AI. AI agents automate many processes, yet they will only complement, but never replace, experienced finance professionals. AI uses big data and processes it in new ways. It analyzes and presents information and trends so that finance teams can apply their judgment, strategic insights and decision-making skills. Establishing centers of excellence for AI agents will become a best practice that enables seamless collaboration between humans and AI.

Change management must become a core competency as finance teams create a framework for continuous updates to processes, data and technology. AI agents support teams by focusing on real-time data and AI-driven outcomes, improving processes, defining measures and optimizing results. Human expertise will always be crucial when it comes to monitoring and optimally managing AI outcomes.

Now is the time for AI-driven finance

AI-driven finance activities are not just about process improvements; they represent a new way of thinking for CFOs. AI agents using your data can achieve results beyond current capabilities, allowing you to focus on operational efficiency and business outcomes.

The future of finance is clear. Now is the time to switch to AI-driven financial processes.

Author

Jean Marc Pfammatter is Applications Leader Switzerland at Oracle. www.oracle.com

ewz is one of the largest energy supply companies in Switzerland. In its own power plants in Switzerland and abroad, ewz produces 100 percent natural electricity from hydro, wind and solar energy. In addition, ewz offers individual electricity supplies for market-authorized companies as well as tailor-made telecommunications solutions. In the city of Zurich and parts of Graubünden, ewz is responsible for the electricity supply. In Zurich, the company also operates a nationwide fiber optic network and several thermal networks. Throughout Switzerland, ewz implements sustainable energy supply systems for site and large-scale projects as well as energy networks for municipalities and neighborhoods. With around 1,300 employees, ewz generated sales of CHF 1.4 billion in 2024.

With the continuous development of tasks and activities, ewz's internal organization has also grown steadily over many years. In practice, this has led to increasing complexity in processes and systems: Different areas developed their own processes and IT tools, often independently of each other. The result was isolated structures with sometimes redundant or contradictory process characteristics. «We had over 700 tools that nobody could keep track of," says Regula Ramseier, Quality Management and ICS Specialist.

With the cross-administrative introduction of risk management and the internal control system (ICS) in the city of Zurich, it became clear that the previous setup had to be rethought - towards an integrated management system that not only links processes and systems as well as risks and controls, but also makes them operationalizable. "We wanted to move away from manually collating facts in Excel and towards real workflows that are traceable," says Ramseier.

It was important to have a simple, understandable solution that combines organization, technology and compliance on a central platform.

Implementation: step-by-step change through an integrated management system

In 2011, ewz found a partner in BOC Group whose modular solutions met the requirements and laid the technical foundation for far-reaching changes. In several phases, ewz introduced the management platforms ADONIS (process management), ADOIT (Enterprise Architecture) and ADOGRC (Governance, Risk & Compliance).

A central process management team was trained to set binding standards for all areas. Processes were documented up to a maximum of the third level and outdated instructions were abolished.

In the ICS context, the new setup creates clear structures for risks, controls and responsibilities - supported by automated workflows. If a control is stored in the process, the system automatically requests confirmation that it has been carried out.

Today, employees and customers benefit from significantly increased efficiency and transparency. "Suddenly we realized that we had three contact persons for our customers, and each of them worked completely differently," says Daniela Maag-Biri, Head of Process Management, describing the previous challenges.

The introduction of the new systems brought impressive successes: ewz reduced the original 700 applications to around 150, and around 300 clearly defined processes were created from over 500 individual processes.

This transformation was much more than a technical project and meant a cultural change. In a company that operates throughout Switzerland, it is crucial not only to introduce new tools, but also to build trust and understanding. "Patience, patience, patience - and a lot of listening," is how Regula Ramseier describes the core of the change.

Today, process management brings the different cultures closer together: "Thanks to the processes, we now speak the same language," says Regula Ramseier.

A living system instead of perfect standstill

It is important to remain pragmatic and start small instead of wanting to perfect everything from the outset. "We keep asking ourselves: Why do we really need this? Is it just about documentation, or do we really want to analyze and continuously improve?" says Daniela Maag-Biri, explaining the approach. A step-by-step approach and early involvement of all those involved, especially the IT and compliance departments, are key to success.

The integrated management system at ewz is not a completed project, but a living organism. Work is continuing on reducing and merging processes and improving interfaces between tools. In future, the potential of the integrated systems will be further exploited, particularly with regard to automated processes and data-driven key performance indicators (KPIs). "This will enable us to work even more effectively on ewz's strategic goals with quality management," explains Regula Ramseier.

Interview partners:
Regula Ramseier, Quality Management and ICS Specialist at ewz, Daniela Maag-Biri, Head of Process Management at ewz.

Author and interviews:
Luzia Anna Rikli works in Marketing & Business Development at BOC Information Technologies Consulting GmbH in Winterthur.

Nutanix, a specialist in hybrid multicloud computing, has presented the results of the seventh edition of its annual Enterprise Cloud Index (ECI) survey for the healthcare sector. With the global survey, the provider measures the spread of cloud use in the industry. "In healthcare, every decision has a direct impact on patients - including decisions about how we evolve our technology stack," explains Jon Edward, Director IS Infrastructure Engineering at Legacy Health. "We looked very carefully at how we could responsibly integrate GenAI. This meant investing in an infrastructure that would allow us to support long-term innovation without compromising on privacy and security. We are committed to modernizing our systems to deliver better care, become more efficient and continue to live up to the trust patients place in us."

GenAI: Introduction at full speed

According to this year's report, healthcare leaders are rapidly adopting generative artificial intelligence (AI) - despite lingering concerns. Respondents from the healthcare sector cite the ability to integrate GenAI into existing IT infrastructure as the biggest hurdle (79 percent), closely followed by persistent healthcare data silos (65 percent) and stubborn challenges in developing cloud-native applications and containers (59 percent).

"The healthcare industry has been known to be slower to adopt new technologies. However, this is not the case with GenAI, which is being adopted much faster. This is likely due in large part to the ease of access to GenAI applications and tools," said Scott Ragsdale, Senior Director, Sales - Healthcare & SLED at Nutanix. "Despite the impressive adoption rate across the industry, concerns remain about the importance of protecting healthcare data. Virtually all healthcare organizations and institutions are using GenAI in one way or another. However, we are likely to see more widespread adoption when the root causes of privacy and security concerns are addressed."

Some important results

The survey participants from the healthcare industry provided information on GenAI implementations and trends, Kubernetes and containers as well as the operation of their business-relevant applications today and in the future. The key findings of this year's study include:

• The introduction and deployment of GenAI in healthcare requires a more comprehensive approach to data security. The industry representatives surveyed point to the considerable additional effort required to raise data security and governance to the level that is fundamentally necessary for the successful introduction and operation of GenAI solutions. The biggest challenge in the use and expansion of GenAI in the industry are concerns about data protection and security when operating large language models (LLMs) with sensitive company data. In addition, 96 percent of industry respondents agree that their organization could do more to protect their GenAI models and applications. GenAI workloads will be a long-term challenge for many companies and institutions in the healthcare sector.
• Infrastructure modernization deserves priority in order to scale GenAI throughout the organization. Running modern applications at enterprise scale requires infrastructure solutions that can meet the essential requirements of complex data security, data integrity and resilience. Unfortunately, 99 percent of healthcare respondents admit to struggling with scaling GenAI workloads from development to production - with the biggest hurdle being integration into existing IT infrastructure. For this reason, healthcare IT leaders should pay greater attention to investing in modern infrastructure as a key component of successful GenAI initiatives.
• The introduction of GenAI-solutions is continuing unabated in the healthcare sector, although there are still hurdles to overcome. As far as the introduction of GenAI as such is concerned, the key figures are excellent. For example, 99 percent of the industry representatives surveyed say that their organization is already using GenAI applications and workloads. Most companies and institutions in the industry are convinced that they can increase productivity, automation and efficiency with the help of GenAI solutions.
• Currently, the application scenarios used in practice in the healthcare sector focus on GenAI-supported solutions for customer support and experience (e.g. in the form of chatbots) as well as code generation, whether automated or with the support of co-pilots. However, companies and institutions in the healthcare sector have identified a range of challenges and potential obstacles in the development and deployment of GenAI solutions. These include security and protection of patient data as well as scalability and complexity.
• Application containerization and Kubernetes deployments are on the rise across the healthcare sector. Container-based infrastructure and application development offers the potential for organizations to provide seamless and secure access to patient and business data in hybrid and multicloud environments. The containerization of applications is widespread in all industries and will also increase in the healthcare sector. In fact, 99% of the industry representatives surveyed said that their organization is already looking into the containerization of applications. The driving force behind this trend is likely to be the view shared by 92% of respondents in the healthcare sector that their organization benefits from the introduction of cloud-native applications and containers. These survey results suggest that the majority of IT leaders in the healthcare sector will be looking at how containerization fits into their strategies to extend existing and newly introduced workloads.

Source and further information: Nutanix

Roxtra GmbH, one of the leading software providers for document control and digital quality management in the DACH region, is setting the course for the future: Matthias Schloz will join the management board on July 1, 2025. The long-standing head of the development department has been a formative face of the company for many years - particularly in the areas of innovation, technological orientation and corporate culture.

With this step, the software manufacturer headquartered in Göppingen, Germany, is responding to the strong growth of recent years. More customers, a growing team and an increasing range of topics require a management team that is more broadly positioned and future-oriented. "With Matthias Schloz, we are not only gaining a valued leader and experienced developer for the management team, but also someone who knows, supports and has played a key role in shaping our corporate culture," says Managing Director Marc Schukey.

The expansion of the management team is part of a long-term strategy: Roxtra GmbH wants to continue to react flexibly to the dynamics of the market, actively drive forward technological developments and develop sustainable solutions for its customers. "Always improving" - even with the expanded management team, this guiding principle remains the claim and drive of the company, which has been developing solutions for classic quality management as well as modules for process and contract management, knowledge management and process modeling for over 20 years.

Source: Roxtra GmbH

The 22 UVG insurers in Switzerland registered around 915,000 accidents and occupational illnesses in 2024. This corresponds to a slight increase compared to the previous year (+0.7%). The 2.0% decline in occupational accidents and illnesses to 280,000 cases is more than compensated for by the 1.7% increase in leisure accidents to 618,000. These UVG statistics do not include accidents involving children, schoolchildren, students, housewives and househusbands, the self-employed and pensioners. Essentially, therefore, it covers employees and apprentices aged between 15 and 65 who are permanently resident in Switzerland. These people make up a good half of the resident population.

Differences between the insurers

A differentiated picture emerges between the accident insurers: at Suva, the number of occupational accidents and occupational illnesses fell by 3.6%, while the number of leisure accidents increased by 2.1%. In contrast, occupational accidents rose slightly by 0.8% at the other private insurers, which are mainly active in the service sector; the increase in leisure accidents was 1.4%. These differences reflect the different insured structures and activity profiles in the respective insured collectives.

The current costs for 2024 are not yet fully known. In the previous year, insurance benefits amounted to around CHF 5.5 billion, mainly for medical costs (medical and therapeutic benefits), daily allowances and provisions for disability and survivors' pensions. At 63.5 percent, leisure accidents accounted for the largest share of this, with 33.3 percent attributable to occupational accidents and illnesses, 3.1 percent to accidents involving unemployed persons and 0.1 percent to accidents involving persons on IV measures.

Demographics are changing the risk of accidents

Whether it's dubious emails, unsecured Wi-Fi connections or suspicious websites, one of the golden rules of everyday working life is: "Don't click on anything." So much for the theory - but reality shows that an increasing awareness of cyber threats does not necessarily mean that office workers behave with the necessary caution.

Five questionable behaviors increase cyber threat

A survey conducted by Sharp among a total of 1,001 Swiss employees in SMEs revealed that almost two thirds of respondents (60 percent) engage in risky IT-related behavior in their day-to-day work that they conceal from their superiors. The five most frequently mentioned questionable behaviors are

• Irregular updating of company laptops (17 percent)
• Logging into unsecured WLAN networks with company end devices (16 percent)
• Sharing memes with colleagues on Whatsapp (16 percent)
• Downloading unauthorized software on company laptops (15 percent)
• Not logged out of the work account at the end of the working day (15 percent)

As awareness of cyber threats has increased overall, the results suggest that security breaches are happening less out of ignorance than out of convenience or indifference.

The survey also shows that companies are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks on Friday afternoons, with almost one in four respondents (24 percent) saying they were most likely to make a cybersecurity mistake at the end of the working week. More than a third (37 percent) cited stress due to high workloads as a reason for increased likelihood of error.

Cybersecurity? Let the others do it!

Despite the growing concern about cyber threats, many of those surveyed do not believe that it is their responsibility to ensure their company's cyber security. In fact, 26 percent of employees surveyed in Switzerland believe that their company's IT department - and not they themselves - should take care of everything to do with this issue. 16% of Swiss employees even stated that they would not care if their company was hacked - the highest figure in Europe compared to all other countries surveyed in the study.

Overall, the responses suggest that employees need additional motivation and resources to keep cyber security in mind in their day-to-day work - especially just before the weekend or when workloads are high.

Raise awareness and train

According to IBM the cost of a cybersecurity breach in 2024 was $4.88 million - a 10% increase on the previous year and the highest total to date. Given these risks and costs, organizations need to ensure their teams have the right resources and knowledge to protect their digital ecosystems.

"Cybersecurity is not just about protecting companies, but also about protecting the people behind the company data," says François Müller, COO Sharp Electronics Switzerland. "Employees must understand that they themselves play a crucial role in cyber security in their respective companies, that the issue is the responsibility of each individual and that they must therefore act carefully. Companies need to equip their employees with the right tools and support them with appropriate training so that they recognize cyber threats early on and know how to deal with them appropriately. The best technical protective measures are of little use if the human security risk is not fully considered and integrated."

Source and further information: www.sharp.ch

Switzerland, with its numerous mountains, bodies of water and exposed location in the center of Europe, is highly exposed to natural events. Expanded and growing settlement areas and infrastructures - some in high-risk locations - increase the resulting financial risk for policyholders and insurers.

Accumulation of natural damage in the last 10 years

In the public and media perception, the last few years in particular seem to have been characterized by severe weather. However, a look at the long-term data series shows that loss-intensive years occur at regular intervals. However, the conspicuous accumulation of natural hazard events in the years 2021 to 2024 is unusual in this form. This observation is supported by statistics compiled by Helvetia based on internal storm and damage reports on natural hazard losses in Switzerland. Between 1990 and 2024, the frequency of the most important natural events as well as the annual loss amount and the development of the average costs per event category were recorded. 

The total number of severe weather events remained largely constant until the mid-2010s - apart from the particularly lossy years of 1999 (storm Lothar) and 2005 (widespread flooding in the Alpine region). In the last ten years (2015-2024), however, there has been a significant increase in both the number of individual events and the cost of damage. The number of reported claims rose by 126% compared to the first decade (1995-2004). The financial expenses for damage repair increased by 133% in the same period.

Number of natural hazard events and their costs on the rise

When looking at the individual causes of damage, it is noticeable that the number of the most important natural events - such as storms, floods, hail, landslides and rockfall - has increased across the board. The increase is least noticeable in the case of floods and inundations: Despite the high media presence of such events, there has only been an increase of 26% over the last ten years. The volume of damage rose by 33 percent in the same period. The main reason for this is primarily the increase in the value of insured buildings and goods. At the same time, the investments made by the federal government, cantons and local authorities - several billion francs in flood protection since 2005 - have had an effect: they have prevented far greater damage. Nevertheless, floods and inundations were responsible for around a quarter of the damage caused in Switzerland between 2015 and 2024.

Hail as the primary cost driver

The trend in hail damage is particularly striking - both for individual and major events. The number of reported hail damage claims rose by 366% in the last ten years compared to the reference period, and the amount of damage even increased by 490%. With a share of over 51% of all claims paid by Helvetia between 2015 and 2024, hail has become the primary cost driver in the area of natural hazards in Switzerland. For Patrick Rohner, Head of the Non-life Claims Center at Helvetia Switzerland, this development cannot be explained solely by more frequent hail events: "In addition to the increased frequency and intensity of hail events, the increasing size of the hailstones is primarily responsible for the exponentially growing loss amounts." Another factor, according to Rohner, is the increased value of the vehicles and buildings affected, as well as the ongoing structural investments over the past ten years or so - in solar systems, for example.

In the areas of storm and landslide/rockfall/rockslide, the number of damage reports also increased compared to the two observation periods - by 38% and 24% respectively. It is worth noting that in both categories, the amount of damage has risen significantly more than the number of events: The amount of damage caused by storms increased by 50 percent, and in the landslide/rockfall/rockslide category by as much as 72 percent.

¹⁾ Development between the comparative period 1995 to 2004 and the comparative period 2015 to 2024.

²⁾ Storm, rockfall/rock slide, landslide/landslide, snowslide, snow pressure, avalanche, high water/flooding, hail, wind.

Connection with climate change

According to Adrian Kollegger, Head of Non-Life and member of the Executive Management of Helvetia Switzerland, there is an obvious link between claims development and climate change: "We expect claims sums to increase further in the future as a result of climate change. The ongoing warming is not only leading to more frequent and more intense storms; the melting of the permafrost in the Alps in particular is fundamentally changing the threat situation. Instead of classic flood events, surface events such as landslides, debris flows, rockfalls and rockfalls will increasingly occur."

Increasing urbanization, the expansion of infrastructure and the development of new areas will further increase the risks in the coming years - both in Switzerland and worldwide.

Damage modeling must continue to evolve

So far, the insurance industry has been able to anticipate future developments through sound modeling and manage premiums accordingly within the regulatory framework set by FINMA (ES_AVO). Models for natural hazard losses are continuously optimized tools that can be used to quantify potential losses. They combine historical data on natural hazards with information on the exposure and vulnerability of people, buildings, infrastructure and other assets in order to assess the impact of potential loss events and disasters.

However, relying solely on historical data is no longer sufficient to design sustainable insurance cover for extreme events. Predictive models, the use of artificial intelligence and the global exchange of knowledge between insurers and reinsurers are becoming increasingly important for this challenging task. 

Future threat scenarios must be incorporated even more strongly into risk modeling in order to ensure risk-appropriate and therefore sustainable premiums for insurers and customers, particularly in the unregulated area of natural hazards. In addition, policyholders, insurers and the state will have to invest even more in prevention and advice in the future. Personal support and advice from local branches will continue to play a central role in this. They know the damage potential of their respective region best and are available quickly in the event of a claim - for example with in-depth damage analysis, the provision of hail drive-ins or unbureaucratic immediate assistance.

Source: Helvetia

The Swiss Medtech Award is presented annually by the industry association Swiss Medtech and is endowed with CHF 50,000. It recognizes projects that combine medical innovation, marketability and benefits for the healthcare system. The association represents the interests of over 700 medtech companies in Switzerland and is committed to their international competitiveness and optimal framework conditions.

At the forefront of digitalization

For the Solothurn-based scale-up Qumea, winning the award is a great recognition. CEO and co-founder of the company Cyrill Gyger emphasizes that he is delighted to have won the highly endowed prize. The award shows that digital change has also arrived in the traditional medtech sector and that the industry is working intensively with new technologies. "It makes us proud to be at the forefront of actively shaping the digital transformation in the medtech industry with Qumea and providing impetus for the future," says Gyger.

CTO Jonas Reber also underlines the signal effect of the jury's decision: "Artificial intelligence and medtech are growing ever closer together - just as precision mechanics or miniaturization have driven innovation in the past. I am delighted that we can contribute to this change with Qumea."

Radar detects movements and alerts if there is a risk of falling

Qumea has developed a solution for digital mobility monitoring in care rooms. The system records anonymous radar-based movement data, evaluates it, visualizes it and automatically provides information about dangerous situations. Patient privacy is protected as no cameras or microphones are used. In acute care, an average reduction in falls of 74 % was achieved. According to Qumea, this sets a new standard in proactive and preventative patient care.

The award was presented on June 25, 2025 as part of the Swiss Medtech Day 2025 in Bern - the leading platform for the Swiss medical technology sector, where experts from industry, research and healthcare network every year. In addition to Qumea, evismo, with a solution for diagnosing heart, sleep and stress disorders, and Bonebridge, a provider of innovative implants for the treatment of bone fractures, were also nominated for the award.

Source and further information: Qumea

According to the recently published "State of Ransomware 2025" report by Sophos, almost half of the companies surveyed have already paid a ransom. The average amount of the ransom is around 1 million US dollars (€ 869,591). What is new is that 53 percent of companies have negotiated a lower amount than the original demand. Nevertheless, this is the second-highest rate of payment for ransom demands in six years (the highest level was 56% in the 2024 report). In the latest report, the willingness of victims in Germany (63%) and Switzerland (54%) to pay was above average.

Companies negotiate ransom payments

Despite the high percentage of companies that paid the ransom, more than half (53%) paid less than originally demanded by the cybercriminals. The affected companies in Germany (47%) and especially in Switzerland (65%) also showed their negotiating skills with the cybercriminals and also paid lower amounts than originally demanded.

The average ransom demand fell by a third between the reports of the last two years from an international perspective. At the same time, the average ransom payment fell by 50 percent. This development shows that companies are increasingly successful in minimizing the impact of ransomware attacks.

Ransom demands and payments vary greatly by country

Worldwide, the average ransom demand (median) was 1,324,439 million dollars (€ 1,159,905). At country level, however, the median demand amounts vary greatly; here are some examples:

• 600 thousand dollars (€ 525 thousand) in Germany
• 643 thousand dollars (€ 563 thousand) in France
• 4.12 million dollars (€ 3.61 million) in Italy
• 5.37 million dollars (€ 4.7 million) in the UK
• 2.0 million dollars (€ 1.75 million) in the USA

The ransom sums paid regionally in the sample countries amount to:

• 412 thousand dollars (€ 361 thousand) in Germany
• 232 thousand dollars (€ 203 thousand) in France
• 2.06 million dollars (€ 1.8 million) in Italy
• 5.20 million dollars (€ 4.55 million) in the UK
• 1.50 million dollars (€ 1.53 million) in the USA

Vulnerabilities and scarcity of resources are significant risk factors

For the third time in a row, exploited vulnerabilities were the most common technical cause of attacks. 40% of all ransomware victims surveyed stated that the attackers exploited a vulnerability they were unaware of. In Germany and Switzerland, this situation is even worse at 45% and 42% respectively. This illustrates the ongoing difficulties companies have in recognizing and securing their attack surface.

63% of the companies surveyed worldwide confirmed that resource problems were a factor in their falling victim to the attack. Companies in Germany (67%) and Switzerland (72%) are even above the international average in this respect. Globally, a lack of specialist knowledge was cited as the most important operational cause in companies with more than 3,000 employees. Companies with 251 to 500 employees were most likely to struggle with a lack of human resources or capacity.

Internal and external resources are crucial

"In 2025, most organizations see the risk of falling victim to a ransomware attack as a part of everyday business. The good news is that thanks to this increased awareness, many organizations are equipping themselves with additional resources to limit the damage. This includes hiring incident response specialists who can not only reduce ransomware payments, but also speed up recovery from an attack and even stop attacks in progress," said Chester Wisniewski, Field CISO at Sophos. "A real game changer in the fight against ransomware is focusing on the root causes of the attack potential. These include, above all, exploited vulnerabilities, a lack of transparency regarding the attack surface in the company and too few resources. We are seeing that more and more companies are realizing that they need help and are turning to MDR (Managed Detection and Response) services to defend themselves. This cybersecurity service, in conjunction with proactive security strategies such as multi-factor authentication and patching, makes a decisive contribution to preventing ransomware in the first place."

Best practices for effective protection against ransomware and other cyberattacks:

• Taking action to eliminate common technical and operational causes of attacks, such as exploited vulnerabilities. Tools such as Sophos Managed Risk can help companies to determine their risk profile and minimize their risk in a targeted manner.
• Ensure that all endpoint devices (including servers) are equipped with special anti-ransomware protection.
• Provision and testing of an incident response plan. Good backups and regular practicing of data recovery play an important role in this.
• 24/7 monitoring and detection. If companies do not have the necessary internal resources, trusted Managed Detection and Response (MDR) providers can help to meet these requirements.

Source: Sophos

The change of name creates what it claims to be one of the most powerful groups of experts for cyber security in the German-speaking world. This includes over 350 employees, a comprehensive 360° cyber security portfolio and a Security Operations Center (SOC) staffed around the clock in both Germany and Switzerland. The vision of the two companies is clear: to protect organizations in the DACH region with state-of-the-art and comprehensive cyber security and make the world more digitally secure every day.

Bundled cyber expertise with added value for customers

By bundling the cyber expertise of Com-Sys and InfoGuard, customers gain better access to international resources. The integration into the InfoGuard Group opens up an expanded cyber security portfolio, access to international teams of experts, standardized processes and state-of-the-art technology - including the two high-security SOCs in Switzerland and Germany. As an officially BSI-qualified APT response service provider, InfoGuard Com-Sys also offers an even more professional response to security incidents through a specialized and one of the most experienced CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team). New services such as Managed Detection & Response (MDR), in-depth consulting as well as highly specialized and comprehensive penetration tests and red teaming services are now also available throughout Germany.

Management structure and further corporate development

Daniel Heinzig remains Managing Director of InfoGuard Com-Sys GmbH. In addition to Daniel Heinzig, Ralf Haubrich, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), InfoGuard Com-Sys GmbH, Thomas Meier, CEO, InfoGuard AG, and Peter Letter, President of the Board of Directors, InfoGuard AG, form the management of InfoGuard Com-Sys GmbH. "This merger is an investment in our future and that of our customers," says Daniel Heinzig, Managing Director of InfoGuard Com-Sys. "We don't just want to keep pace with developments in the cyber world - we want to play an active role in shaping them." Thomas Meier, CEO of InfoGuard, agrees: "This step marks a significant milestone for InfoGuard - and above all for our customers. With the expanded team of experts, new locations and our comprehensive portfolio, we are ideally positioned. Our goal is clear: together we will do everything we can to ensure that our customers are protected in the best possible way today and tomorrow."

Source and further information: www.infoguard.ch

Companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are setting new standards in the implementation of European sustainability regulations - primarily thanks to their high level of digitalization and automation. The new study "The State of Sustainability Reporting in Europe" of the software company osapiens shows that 88% of the companies surveyed in the DACH region already use digital solutions to implement regulatory requirements, a third (29%) of which are even fully automated. In all other regions (Nordics, Spain, France, Italy, Benelux), this proportion is 9%.

This technological lead is paying off: 85% of the companies surveyed in German-speaking countries believe they are now ready to meet the new requirements of the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD) and the EU Supply Chain Directive (CSDD). Across Europe, the figure is only 41 percent. Automation improves data quality, speeds up evaluations and increases legal certainty.

Regulation as a driver of innovation

Despite ongoing discussions about sustainability regulations, around 97% of DACH companies currently see regulatory requirements as a driver of innovation and competitiveness. This is significantly more than in any other region in Europe (82 percent). 

The report is able to show where reporting pressure has provided innovation impetus. 65% of respondents were able to improve their product developments as a direct result of ESG requirements, while 64% reported more efficient processes. 63 percent benefit from better market positioning. Many German-speaking companies therefore clearly see regulations as an opportunity for the future.

Data access and quality determine success

Despite their digital lead, many DACH companies face structural challenges when it comes to data management: 41% report a lack of integration between ESG and financial reporting, while 36% still record relevant key figures manually and in a time-consuming manner. Added to this are regulatory complexity (35%), a lack of real-time transparency (34%) and problems with data quality (29%).  

Even if the willingness to digitize is high, many companies still lack the necessary basis. 38% of DACH companies see the fragmentation of their ESG data across various internal and external sources as the biggest challenge. 33% complain about a lack of specialist expertise, while 31% struggle with the integration of automated ESG solutions into existing systems. For 29 percent, high implementation costs represent an additional hurdle.  

Digital maturity gives companies a clear competitive advantage. In the DACH region, 92% of companies keep an eye on their impact along the supply chain - across Europe, only 61% of companies manage to do so. This makes technology a key factor for transparency and the regulatory ability to act.

DACH remains flexible even with new requirements

The DACH region shows strength not only in existing requirements, but also in dealing with regulatory dynamics. The planned EU omnibus initiative is assessed differently. 38% of the companies surveyed see it as an opportunity to reduce regulatory burdens and simplify ESG reporting obligations. At the same time, 34% see the initiative as a new source of uncertainty. Despite this divided assessment, many DACH companies feel that they are generally well equipped (85%). By comparison, the average across Europe is only 41%.

"Digitalization determines regulatory success"

"The DACH region shows impressively that those who invest in technology at an early stage are not only compliant from a regulatory perspective, but also have a strategic advantage," explains Alberto Zamora, CEO and co-founder of osapiens. "Automation, platform thinking and central data strategies are the key to not only meeting the constantly growing requirements, but also to gaining a real competitive advantage."