Until now, airlines lost their right to slots at European airports if they did not use them at least 80 percent of the time. This regulation applied until the Corona pandemic. The new "EU Slot Regulation" will give airlines more leeway in the use of these slots in the future.

With regard to flight safety, flight operations will in future be free to replace previous training and checks with a training program (Evidence Based Training Program). This program is based on rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It aims to develop and assess a pilot's competency across a range of competencies, rather than measuring performance on individual events or maneuvers.

In terms of aviation security, goods transported by air to the EU will now be subjected to an initial risk analysis before they are loaded onto an aircraft and not just when they are unloaded at their destination. In addition, Switzerland is adopting further regulations to increase efficiency in air traffic management (ATM) with the aim of improving the precision of approach routes and runway safety.

The Federal Council approved the adoption of the new provisions at its meeting on June 23, 2021. Christian Hegner, Director of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, signed the decision on behalf of Switzerland. The new provisions of the agreement will enter into force in Switzerland on August 1, 2021.

Source: Bazl 

It is probably no coincidence, as the summer vacations have begun or are just around the corner. According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), 63 percent of the Swiss population aged 16 and older have already been vaccinated at least once. This is a good result, the FOPH writes. "We therefore say thank you to all those who have been vaccinated and to the many people who have been involved," a statement from the federal office said.

To mark this result, the FOPH served a cake to passers-by in front of the Federal Palace on Monday. Those who wanted to get vaccinated before or after enjoying the cake could do so right away in an immunization truck in the canton of Bern between 10 am and 4 pm. The FOPH writes that it is now possible during the quieter summer holiday period to simply get vaccinated against Covid-19 in doctor's offices or pharmacies without making an appointment.

Source: BAG

©Depositphotos

Adobe has followed up with a series of security updates for its Adobe Photoshop products. The updates for seven programs address a number of security vulnerabilities rated as critical. The vendor plugs a total of 21 holes in seven products (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Media Encoder, Audition, Prelude and Character Animator). The majority of the security leaks were discovered by security researchers and classified as critical.

Specifically, Photoshop up to version 21.2.9 and Photoshop 2021 up to version 22.4.2 have two vulnerabilities. Adobe has already fixed a critical vulnerability that could exploit a buffer overflow. Premiere Pro up to version 15.2 has a critical vulnerability that has already been fixed in version 15.4.

The detailed Adobe Security Bulletin is on the page of the manufacturer viewable.

Source: PC World

According to an international consortium of journalists and Amnesty International, a Trojan horse belonging to the Israeli security company NSO called "Pegasus" allegedly monitored and wiretapped hundreds of politicians and activists. Customers of NSO are said to have according to the German Tagesschau be able to use the spying software to eavesdrop on the smartphones of journalists and human rights activists as well.

The journalists' association has a list of 50,000 surveillance victims. Among them are 180 journalists, for example from CNN and Le Monde. NSO officially sells the software only to government agencies for terror prevention. According to the consortium's research, however, there are indications that authoritarian regimes also use the Trojan to monitor certain groups.

Extensive access rights

Among experts, Pegasus is considered to be a very effective surveillance weapon. The software gains access to the camera, microphone and location of cell phone users, for example. As the Tagesschau reports, there are different ways how the Trojan gets onto the opfter's device. The opfter usually receives an email or an SMS. When a link is clicked, the monitoring software is virtually installed. According to IT researchers at the University of Toronto, the software also exploits security vulnerabilities in the iOS and Android mobile operating systems to gain access to the phone.

France's government spokesman Garbiel Attal spoke of an "extremely shocking set of facts," according to the SDA news agency. The surveillance software is also likely to have played a role in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

Sources: Tagesschau, SDA, Netzwoche

The New York IT company Beyond Identity surveyed around 1,000 employees on how they handle passwords. According to the results, identity management is often handled carelessly in everyday work. For example, according to the survey, one in four employees still has access to accounts at previous workplaces. A little more than 40 percent share their passwords at work, for example, and one in five employees uses the same password for work-related accounts as for their private bank account, for example.

A majority of respondents said they do not remember their supposedly secure passwords using really secure methods. Surprisingly, 34 percent of survey participants, for example, still write down their passwords the old-fashioned way in a notebook or on a piece of paper. 42.5 percent state that, in their opinion, sharing passwords at work should be grounds for dismissal.

Password manager as the best option?

However, the convenience of using passwords poses major cybersecurity risks. Smaller companies seem to be particularly affected. This group is also the most likely to report that they change their passwords little or never. One popular option is a password manager to store and manage passwords for different logins. However, password management software can also be hacked if, for example, it is not sufficiently secured by multi-factor authentication.

Around 1008 employees from various US companies took part in the survey on password and security practices. The average age of the respondents was 37.9 years.

The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) reveals the most important rules for creating strong passwords in this post

Source: Beyond Identity

Anyone who works in a home office knows that feeling of having a strained or exhausted head after a long day in front of the screen with several consecutive phone calls and online sessions. Are your ears more at risk when working in a home office than in an office? Hearing damage is virtually always irreversible. So how can you prevent this impairment?

How to protect your ears when using headsets

Good news: You can safely participate in one Skype, Zoom, or Teams meeting after another as long as the volume of your headphones is set adequately. Noises as loud as 85 decibels will not usually degrade your hearing. Video conferencing is usually much quieter. The louder the noise, the shorter your exposure to it should be. The dose - in this case, the duration - makes the poison. But if your headphones are set to a low volume, then even an online session marathon won't harm you, at most you'll feel a sense of fatigue or feel pressure points on your ears. The type of headphones - headset, in-ear/on-ear headphones, laptop speakers - has no effect on your hearing.
Devices that output sound - smartphones, computers, iPods, MP3 players, etc. - are usually equipped with a volume scale. When the red or orange range on the bar control is reached, your hearing can be damaged in the long term.

Everyone has a different sensitivity to sound, so it's important to be aware of your own needs and adjust the way you work accordingly. Some prefer headsets, others in-ear headphones, and still others prefer to use the computer's speakers.

What to do for headaches?

Wearing headphones all day is like wearing a mask over your mouth: you feel constricted, and in the long run it's exhausting. One tip is to alternate between the different work tools: sometimes use a headset, sometimes use noise-canceling headphones - when you really need silence around you - and sometimes use the computer's speakers to reduce the constricting feeling through the headphones and let your ears rest a bit. Using speakers assumes a quiet environment, of course. Let your ears rest to avoid headaches or fatigue. If possible, take regular breaks and air out your study. Also remember to exercise; a walk or jog during your lunch break, for example, will do you particular good.

Often headaches are caused primarily by the screen. This has a barely perceptible constant movement that forces our eye to constantly adjust without us being aware of it. This can cause headaches.
With daily screen work, even the smallest vision defect can lead to headaches. If the headaches persist, you should make an appointment for an eye test with an ophthalmologist.

And what to do if you are hearing impaired?

If you feel that your hearing has deteriorated, you may have a little earwax in your ear canal. In-ear headphones can promote the production of earwax and push it inward. This can cause the ear canal to close and an ear plug to form. In this case, the first thing you should do is consult your general practitioner to clear the ear canal. With age, hearing ability naturally decreases more and more (especially in the high frequencies). If this becomes a problem, then a specialist should be consulted. This specialist can recommend various hearing aids to make your life easier if you have a significant hearing loss. However, the corresponding symptoms can also appear prematurely in people who work in noisy conditions for long periods without hearing protection. Any damage that occurs is irreversible. That is why it is so important to consistently protect your ears in noisy environments.

Prevention tips for hearing protection (PDF) 

Source: Suva 

Swiss Safety Center AG has a new Head of Fire Protection in Christoph Mörgeli since the beginning of June. Mörgeli has been employed by Swiss Safety Center AG as Head of Fire Protection since January 2020 and has taken over the overall management of the Fire Protection business unit as of June 1, 2021.

The long-time safety consultant completed his training at the former safety institute 30 years ago. Most recently, Mörgeli served as the safety manager of a large corporation, as well as the owner's representative and as an official representative of the fire police in various functions in planning and consulting in the area of fire protection.

Thanks to his many years of experience, he is familiar with a wide variety of requirements and needs, writes the competence center in an in-house statement. According to Swiss Safety Center AG, this is also important in order to be able to provide optimum advice on all fire protection topics.

More on the subject of fire protection: https://www.safetycenter.ch/brandschutz

More about the fire protection team at the Swiss Safety Center: https://www.safetycenter.ch/brandschutz/team

Source: Swiss Safety Center AG

Swiss Safety Center AG has a new Head of Fire Protection in Christoph Mörgeli since the beginning of June. Mörgeli has been employed by Swiss Safety Center AG as Head of Fire Protection since January 2020 and has taken over the overall management of the Fire Protection business unit as of June 1, 2021.

The long-time safety consultant completed his training at the former safety institute 30 years ago. Most recently, Mörgeli served as the safety manager of a large corporation, as well as the owner's representative and as an official representative of the fire police in various functions in planning and consulting in the area of fire protection.

Thanks to his many years of experience, he is familiar with a wide variety of requirements and needs, writes the competence center in an in-house statement. According to Swiss Safety Center AG, this is also important in order to be able to provide optimum advice on all fire protection topics.

More on the subject of fire protection: https://www.safetycenter.ch/brandschutz

More about the fire protection team at the Swiss Safety Center: https://www.safetycenter.ch/brandschutz/team

Source: Swiss Safety Center AG

© Pixabay

The demand for mountain bikes with and without electric assistance is increasing. Last year, a total of 200,000 mountain bikes were sold. A third of these were e-mountainbikes. With the growing popularity of this leisure activity, the average number of injuries is also increasing every year. According to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), an average of around 10,600 mountain bikers are injured so seriously each year that they require medical treatment.

More accidents and more deaths with mountain bikes

Five men and three women lost their lives in mountain bike accidents in 2020. However, the average age of the victims was over 50. According to the BFU, the increase in accidents and fatalities is also due to the fact that many athletes overestimate their abilities. Good physical condition is therefore very important. A single second of carelessness can quickly lead to a nasty fall.

Even those who are inadequately equipped put themselves at risk. A helmet is still indispensable. However, depending on the difficulty of the routes, additional protective equipment is also an advantage: for example, for knees, elbows and back, as well as sports goggles and long-fingered gloves.

Riding safely on a mountain bike (how-to video): 

Source: AAIB 

The Siemens Excellence Award is aimed at outstanding final theses in order to promote young engineers. The most outstanding bachelor's thesis at each university of applied sciences in a technical field of study is awarded 1000 Swiss francs. The winners are then invited to defend their thesis in front of a jury of experts. The winners receive prize money of 10,000 Swiss francs.

Distinguish between guards' cell phones and prisoners' cell phones

Winning the national Siemens Excellence Award again for the third time in a row at BFH this year went to Jannic Schären. The Bachelor's graduate in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology with a specialization in Embedded Systems wrote his thesis on cell phone authentication. The starting point for the project was the fact that, for example, cell phones are repeatedly smuggled in illegally in prisons.

Jannic Schären was looking for solutions that could distinguish guards' cell phones from inmates in order to avoid false alarms. The basic idea was that guards' cell phones send out a signal via WLAN on command, which could be tracked via an indoor loc system. By tracking the staff, it is possible to distinguish whether mobile signals from a room are a guard's cell phone or a smuggled-in smartphone.

Schären's thesis was chosen as a "scientific work with a high degree of innovation and social relevance". The project is about to be used as a real solution.

The BFH graduate was employed as a research assistant in Digital Signal Processing at BFH until the end of June 2021. Since then, he has been involved in his start-up Schären Electronics on a full-time basis.

Source: BFH

The digital transformation is a process of change that is permanently altering the economy, society and politics. In this process, also known as the fourth industrial revolution, our dependence on IT and the Internet is increasing. The cyber dimension permeates all physical dimensions, creating cyber-physical systems through which our lives are increasingly dominated, operated and controlled by computers. In addition to dependency, the risks of attacks on the IT infrastructure and the theft and loss of data are also increasing.

The various major Swiss studies conducted by the FHNW School of Business impressively show the state of the digital transformation in Switzerland. For several years, lack of time, lack of knowledge and lack of trained employees have been described as major barriers to transformation; cyber and data security are among the greatest risks. In the study on the transformation of the world of work in Swiss companies published shortly before Covid-19, workplace monitoring by employers and states was also newly cited as a risk (by one-third of respondents).

Covid-19 and the home office

Together with various research partners, representative SME studies were conducted in 2020 to analyze the state of the home office and cybersecurity between the first and second Covid19 waves.

In the context of workplace transformation, the term blended working (a work environment in which diverse forms of work and workplaces are provided) is often discussed, which also includes home office. In the first lockdown resulting from Covid-19 in March/April 2020, the number of employees who worked from home nearly quadrupled. Since then (prior to the second wave), home office has become more established and usage has increased by over half (by 60% from 10% to 16%) compared to before the first lockdown. In terms of the communication tools used, e-mail continues to dominate (at 84% of SMEs), followed by telephone, WhatsApp and other messenger services, and online conference tools.

Interestingly, more than half of the companies use messenger services and just under half use online conferencing tools such as Google Meet, Skype, Teams or Zoom. This means that company data often ends up abroad or is hosted by foreign services. This opens up further risks for attacks and data loss. One third (29%) of Swiss SMEs expect even more employees to work from home in the future. This means that cybersecurity will also come increasingly into focus:

Here, two-thirds of Swiss SMEs consider the topic important or very important. The larger the company, the higher the importance of cyber security. A study by Dreamlab Technologies was presented at the Swiss Cyber Security Days 2021, showing the sharp increase in global command-and-control (C2) infrastructures during the pandemic. These C2 systems are used to provoke the opening or calling of a website, for example, with phishing emails. Malware (Trojan horses) is then introduced via the C2 infrastructure and the computers are thus spied on and controlled.

Cybersecurity and SMEs

The 2020 study shows that a quarter of Swiss SMEs have already been the victim of a cyberattack, the remediation of which involved considerable effort. Of these, one-third saw financial damage and one-tenth each saw reputational damage or loss of customer data. In contrast, there is still a lack of awareness among companies of becoming victims of a cyber attack themselves: Only just 11% rate the risk of being put out of action for a day by a cyber attack as high. According to the study results, the most important technical measures for increasing cyber security are regular data backups, the use of antivirus programs, regular software updates and the use of firewalls. However, there is still a lot of need for action in terms of organizational measures: Only slightly more than one-third of SMEs regularly train their employees, only one-fifth conduct IT security audits and only one-sixth of SMEs have taken out cyber insurance.

The Swiss Cyberspace

In the third execution of the Swiss Cyber Security Days, the latest figures on the state of the nation, the Swiss cyber space, were presented. The Swiss cyber radar system CyObs analyzed the external or publicly accessible IT infrastructure with over 20 million IP addresses and 2.3 million .ch domains. The study identified over 100,000 published and known vulnerabilities.

These include, for example:
- 2900 vulnerabilities in email server software (exim_rce)
- 2400 directly addressable Windows systems no longer supported (EOL)
- 837 vulnerable FortiOS installations
- 400 directly responsive and vulnerable iLO control systems
- 322 administrative control systems infected with Bluekeep
- 197 publicly accessible unprotected databases
- 118 networks which could be attacked with Eternalblue

The various studies show that the topics of digitalization, home office and cyber security have gained in importance in the Covid-19 environment and that Switzerland still has a lot to do. It is time to perceive the cyber dimension not only as a risk but also as a competitive advantage for business, society and politics and to invest accordingly.

For direct alerting of Rega, the rule of thumb is: if the rescue helicopter can arrive at the patient's location more quickly than other means of rescue, it is advisable to dial the Rega emergency number 1414 directly.

This is the case, for example, if the patient is in rough terrain, access for ground-based emergency services is difficult or impossible, or would take too long. The speed is one of the main advantages of the helicopter and makes it the means of choice when a fast and gentle transport to a center hospital is important for the treatment of the casualty. For example, in cases of suspected back injuries, heart attacks, strokes, amputations, severe burns or pronounced respiratory problems.

Another advantage of the Rega helicopter: the crew always includes an emergency doctor. In the event of falls from great heights, accidents involving several injured persons, seriously injured or ill children or in other cases where medical assistance is required on site, the 1414 is the right number.
And don't worry, there is no such thing as a "false alarm number". The blue-light organizations in Switzerland are well networked with each other. No matter which emergency number you dial, you will receive professional help everywhere and, if necessary, will be forwarded to the right place within seconds.

Rega emergency app

At the Helicopter Operations Center, Rega's emergency managers work around the clock to ensure that around 10,000 patients receive rapid medical assistance from the air every year. As a general rule, it is advisable to raise the alarm using Rega's emergency app. With the free Rega app, you can alert the Rega Operations Centre with a swipe, and your position data are automatically transmitted. The direct transmission of coordinates to the Operations Center and subsequently directly to the cockpit of the rescue helicopter saves a lot of time and makes it easier to search for the accident site. The Rega app was launched in 2011 and has since been downloaded over 1.6 million times. The emergency app has proved its worth in thousands of missions and ensures every day that Rega can help patients as quickly as possible.

If you do not have a smartphone or have not installed the Rega app, you can alert Rega via the emergency number 1414. To successfully send an alarm with your cell phone, you need a minimum connection to a mobile network. If you frequently travel in areas without network coverage, an emergency radio may be the means of choice. If you do not succeed in raising the alarm with the Rega app, via the emergency number 1414 or the emergency radio, we recommend that you change your location if possible or try to call for help via the European emergency number 112.

Charged, warm, protected

To be prepared in an emergency, it is important to charge the battery of your cell phone before an excursion and then keep it warm and protected - it can save lives in an emergency. It is also helpful to configure the Rega app in advance, test it and then activate one of the additional functions. Furthermore, you should always inform your relatives, friends or hut wardens of the destination and duration of your upcoming activity. In this way, a search can be triggered in a targeted manner in the event of an emergency.

The helicopter lands

After the alarm is raised, it usually doesn't take long for the rescue helicopter to approach the scene. Don't be alarmed if the rescue helicopter doesn't come in for a direct landing. The pilot usually makes a circuit to assess potential hazards from the air and look for the best place to land. The helicopter will land as close as possible and as far away from the accident site as necessary. When landing, it will cause strong winds. Therefore, secure loose items such as jackets or backpacks. Approach the helicopter only when the rotor is stationary, and always follow the instructions of the crew.

Checklist and emergency numbers

Where is the accident site?
Who can be reached on site and how?
What exactly happened?
How many people are affected, how injured?
What is the situation on the ground?
What is the weather like on site? Visibility? Precipitation? Wind?
Emergency numbers
117 Police
118 Fire department
144 Emergency medical center
1414 Rega Switzerland
112 European emergency number
Alerting with the Rega app
Rega's free emergency app transmits the location details of the person raising the alarm directly to the Operations Center. This saves valuable time in an emergency.

More information on alerting:
www.rega.ch/alarmierung

Source: Rega magazine #94 from May 2020