The Swiss government announced that several of its websites were targeted today by the pro-Russian hacker group NoName, which justified its actions with the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"The attack was claimed by the 'NoName' group, which previously attacked the federal administration in June 2023. This group, which is believed to be pro-Russian, cited the participation of the Ukrainian president "at the World Economic Forum currently being held in Davos" as a motive. , the federal Office of Cyber Security announced.
As a result, several federal administration websites were temporarily unavailable, it added.
The federal office also stated that such an attack was expected before the Ukrainian president's visit to Switzerland this week and that appropriate security measures were in place.
The office emphasized that the cyber attack was quickly noticed, which allowed measures to be taken to restore the availability of the given portals, which included the websites of several ministries.
The NoName group already attacked the Swiss federal administration in June 2023, when the Ukrainian president spoke on June 15 via video link in front of the Swiss parliament.
Zelenski personally came to Switzerland this time.
Zelenski told the Swiss media after a meeting with Swiss President Viola Amherd on Monday in Bern that due to its neutral status, Switzerland cannot participate in war against other countries, but that it has accepted to organize a peace summit related to the conflict in Ukraine. The date has yet to be determined, as well as the modalities of participation.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Switzerland has firmly insisted on its military neutrality. It thus refuses to send weapons to Ukraine or to allow countries including Germany to re-export Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine, which has sometimes been criticized by Kiev.
However, it joined the international sanctions against Russia, and the Ukrainian president on Monday welcomed Switzerland's humanitarian support, especially in the area of demining.
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