District court in Switzerland ‘victim of a cyber attack’

A district court in Switzerland announced on Tuesday it is “the victim of a cyber attack.”

The court, in the German-speaking district of March in central Switzerland, serves a population of around 45,000 people.

The nature of the incident has not been disclosed, although the limited description on the court’s website indicates it may have been a ransomware attack.

“The entire IT system had to be shut down to protect the data. It is currently unclear when the IT will be available again, but it could take several days,” the website says.

The court’s telephone lines are currently down, however scheduled hearings in the court are expected to take place as planned.

It follows a ransomware attack on the municipal administration of Zollikofen, a suburb of Bern, in November.

According to Swiss news publication Inside IT, the attackers encrypted administration data during that incident, and officials shut down and disconnected their computer networks as a precaution.

Earlier this year, the Swiss government warned citizens that official data may have been accessed by ransomware actors following an attack on an IT company.

While many financially-motivated ransomware groups avoid targeting victims within what Russia considers to be its sphere of influence, their targeting is often opportunistic when it comes to selecting victims from abroad.

Switzerland, which has adopted a neutral foreign policy for the past 200 years in terms of armed conflict, adopted European Union sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.