The Unia trade union responds to a letter from Economiesuisse. Under the title "Corona Loosenings: More personal responsibility again" the umbrella organization for the economy is calling for a four-phase plan for initial relaxations. According to Economiesuisse, people who are vaccinated earlier should be granted more personal freedom again, with personal responsibility still playing a major role.

A plan for more personal responsibility

Economiesuisse is calling, among other things, for initial relaxations to come into force as early as March, with the home office obligation likely to be converted back into a recommendation. In phase two, in which risk groups have already been vaccinated, it would be conceivable, in the view of the business association, to reopen restaurants and fitness centers with appropriate protection concepts, for example.

In phase three, it is believed that events such as ice hockey, football or rock concerts could be held again if every person who wanted to could be vaccinated. Thus, in Phase Four, herd immunity would ultimately emerge, in which further restrictions could be lifted.

Relaxation of protective measures not appropriate at the moment

According to Unia, the viruses were hardly impressed by more personal responsibility. The trade union countersthat this could additionally weaken the urgently needed protection of employees who are particularly at risk, since a personal responsibility plan is more likely to relieve companies of the obligation to ensure a protection concept.

According to Unia, hardly any protective measures should be relaxed at present. The obligation to work from home should be maintained and companies should have a protection concept. Furthermore, due to the workload of Suva and the cantons, the union federation demands that control bodies of the social partners should take on more tasks at the moment.

Source: Unia/Economiesuisse

In 2021, physical security will increasingly become the focus of companies. If the German technology group Genetec has its way, companies will have to pay more attention to centralized, unified security systems as reinforced enterprise technology. However, privacy protection will also continue to gain in importance, especially as many companies have quickly implemented solutions for fever detection, for example. However, privacy will increasingly be incorporated into the design and operation of IT systems, he said. For the security industry, this means that customers will not have to choose between protecting privacy and ensuring physical security. The focus on data protection will therefore generally increase.

Trusted security solutions

Genetec also states that cybersecurity risks will increase in 2021. Schools, hospitals, private companies and government agencies in particular were affected by an increasing number of cyberattacks last year. Even in the third quarter of 2020, there were nearly four million email threats and more than one million accesses to malicious websites related to Covid-19, according to Trend Micro. The short-term shift to home offices also contributed heavily to this trend. It will therefore be crucial to select trusted security solutions. Encryption, multi-factor authentication and password management are the first line of defense, he said.

Genetec lists another criterion in the increasing scrutiny of vendors, as physical security technology is now also an integral part of a company's IT strategy. Providers of physical security solutions will therefore have to meet higher requirements in the future as part of the procurement process in order to classify them as a trustworthy, reliable provider. The introduction of hybrid cloud models could also gain in importance.

Source: Genetec

If a high-speed camera inside the car were to capture the entire movement of the body in a car accident, faster and more targeted treatment of all serious injuries in a car accident would be possible. Lawyer Caroline Bono is convinced of this. To this end, the data could be sent directly to the ambulance service and the emergency room. In addition, such motion capture would help car manufacturers to continuously improve their safety systems.

Crowdfunding for a camera system for all new and used cars

Bono himself suffered a car accident in 2002, sustaining severe injuries to the whole back and second-degree craniocerebral trauma. Fatal: The emergency physician did not realize at the time of arrival at the emergency clinic that she was not restrained by the seat belt. Therefore, because of misdiagnosed whiplash, she was not only treated incorrectly: She also failed to receive the insurance services to which she was entitled.

On this occasion, the physician Dr. med. Ruedi Rothenbühler and Dr. iur. Caroline Bono initiated a crowdfunding and a patent entry with the project "Guardian for the Injured" (G4you) to establish patent protection worldwide and to finance the development costs for a prototype and a simulation of the data analysis. The goal would be to integrate such a camera system into all new and used cars. To make this a reality, the company is considering major car manufacturers and suppliers such as IT companies and camera manufacturers. Currently, Bono and Rothenbühler are looking for a business angel investor, according to a statement.

Source: g4you.org 

The Rheumaliga Schweiz has a new podcast. In the radio play "Rheumatism personally" mainly people have their say who have collected their personal experiences with rheumatic diseases, according to a statement of the Rheumatism League Switzerland.

For about a year now, the corona pandemic has been dominating our daily lives. In this context, questions also arise about the side effects in rheumatism patients. In particular, people with inflammatory rheumatism should get an idea of whether they belong to the risk group.

Another discussion is devoted to sex life with chronic rheumatic disease, for example, how sufferers deal with sudden relapses during lovemaking.

The first two episodes are available for listening at www.rheumaliga.ch, Spotifiy or Apple Podcast. Host and producer is radio man Hannes Diggelmann.

More information and all episodes:
www.rheumaliga.ch/podcas

A mouse pointer suddenly moved at a waterworks in Florida as cybercriminals gained access to a water supply plant near Tampa. However, the manipulation of the water plant, which supplied about 15,000 people, fell flat, according to "Reuters" immediately caught the attention of an attentive employee.

The attackers could have increased the level of caustic sodium hydroxide in fresh water by a hundredfold. The lye is normally used in small quantities to regulate the acidity of the water. Fortunately, the process was reversed in time.

Teamviewer as a gateway

The manipulation makes it clear how easily and quickly hackers could gain access to such systems. In Florida's case, Teamviewer was the gateway because certain network devices may not have been clearly segmented and their data traffic not secured by firewalls. In any case, the damage would have been catastrophic and shows that operators of critical infrastructures such as a water supply need to invest in more processes, technologies or awareness training.

In a press release, Telsonic uses the incident as an opportunity to raise awareness about the use of IoT devices in the home office. For example, anyone who has connected their cameras via WLAN to monitor their home could also leave a security gap open to hackers. The authorities are also currently warning of the first attacks worldwide via privileged access to Microsoft 365 and Azure environments.

Source: Reuters/Telsonic

According to the latest figures from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), youth unemployment rose by 5,169 people compared to the same month last year, an increase of 41 percent. Among the older unemployed between the ages of 50 and 64, there was an increase of 13,365 people; according to Seco, this equates to an increase of 39.1 percent. Compared to the previous month, a total of 1181 more jobseekers were registered, and the number rose by 67,266 in the same month compared to the previous year.

In November 2020, a total of 296,592 people were affected by short-time work. According to Seco, meanwhile, an additional 77,204 people are affected by short-time work than in the previous month. The number of affected establishments increased by 50.1 percent (11,458 units). According to data from the unemployment insurance funds, the number of people disenrolled who exhausted their unemployment benefits in the course of November amounted to 2195 people.

Despite a lockdown in January and February, Suva achieved a good investment result of 5.1 percent for 2020. According to the company, this was above the average of the last ten years - 4.5 percent. Equity, alternative and real estate investments were the main contributors to the good performance, according to the statement. Suva's total investment assets rose from CHF 54 billion to CHF 56 billion in 2020.

"These funds are earmarked for a specific purpose," explains Hubert Niggli, Head of the Finance Department and member of Suva's Executive Board. "They cover the legally required provisions for the approximately 82,000 pensions, for future medical costs and daily allowances, and for other statutory insurance benefits from accidents and occupational diseases that have already occurred."

Policyholders would benefit from lower premiums from excess reserves and own funds, Suva says. Since 2013, the Swiss insurer has been able to reduce the burden on the Swiss workplace by a total of around one billion francs.

Thanks to secured premium income, Suva pursues a long-term investment strategy and is able to invest a significant proportion of its assets in shares, real estate and alternative investments. Suva's investment strategy is most comparable to that of pension funds. The Suva Council will decide on the appropriation of the 2020 annual result on June 18, 2021.

Source: Suva

Companies must remain capable of action in order to be able to maintain business operations during a pandemic. However, Blackberry is convinced that effective crisis communication is an important prerequisite.

1. establish secure processes for communication with stakeholders

It must be ensured that employees at all locations are reliably informed in the event of a crisis and that this is done in good time. At best, it is known where the individual persons are and what information is relevant for them. The best basis for this is a digital platform that enables such information processes while maintaining the highest security standards - and at the same time relieves the IT team.

2. use multiple communication channels

People inform themselves in individual ways and have their preferred channels for doing so. Successful crisis communication therefore takes place not only along one path, but by means of different media. It is therefore advisable to rely on different channels for crisis communication: from apps to SMS and radio reports to messages in social networks.

3. multilateral communication

Part of a good crisis communication strategy is that the addressees can react to the information. Then the company has the opportunity to take further measures to protect them. Possible means in advance are, for example, employee surveys, health checks or daily safety reminders.

4. network with trusted external organizations

Crisis situations do not occur in a vacuum. It is therefore advisable to be in contact with public safety institutions such as the local fire department or rescue service. This can be done in the same way as communication with employees - through various channels and in mutual exchange.

Source: Blackberry

That bird flu could soon be introduced into Switzerland was already expected after the virus was detected in a swan and a crow near the border abroad, writes the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) in a communication. Now the virus has been detected in a seagull in the canton of Schaffhausen.

Together with the cantonal authorities, measures to protect domestic poultry have therefore already been ordered. These apply since 25 January 2021 for the areas around Lake Constance and along the Rhine. They are provisionally valid until March 15, 2021.

Further information on the protection of domestic poultry can be found on the BLV website as well as summarized on an infographic.

Source: BLV/LID

The Corona pandemic has led to a larger shift to alternative work concepts. SEC Consult warns in a release that with the rapid shift to telecommuting, it is imperative that companies continue to keep the protection of sensitive information and personal data in mind. The cybersecurity experts have some tips for creating a secure home office workplace:

• Companies should communicate clear guidelines and behaviors to employees for home office.
• Secure connections such as VPN are indispensable - so that encryption of transmitted data is ensured.
• Private and company devices must be kept separate. Company data has no place on private storage media.
• Even in the home office, access to the work computer should be protected from fellow employees and neighbors at all times.

SEC-Consult Managing Director Ulrich Fleck recommends a two-step strategy: "In the short term, timely security reviews are advisable, which help to record the security status of all workstations, whether in the company, teleworking or in the home office, and to take necessary measures in good time. Once the framework is established and secured, regular in-depth security reviews should be conducted. If the necessary personnel resources for this are lacking in-house, external security specialists can put the applications to the test, identify possible weak points and also offer solutions for eliminating security gaps."

Source: SEC Consult

The European market for e-scooter sharing continued to grow in the crisis year 2020 - but not as strongly as in the previous year. At that time, the number of e-scooters had increased more than tenfold overall within one year. This is shown by a comparative study conducted annually by ZHAW students in the Transportation Systems program. The bikesharing market, on the other hand, became somewhat smaller last year. In Zurich and Vienna, there are now almost three times as many e-scooters as bicycles for rent. In all other cities, however, bikes still have the upper hand.

Largest e-scooter density in Zurich

In 2019, Berlin, Copenhagen and Zurich in particular were flooded with e-scooters. This boom has now also reached Barcelona and Paris in 2020. While the fleet sizes in Berlin and Copenhagen have hardly changed since 2019, one can see further growth in Zurich compared to the previous year. With now almost 4000 e-scooters and thus more than eight vehicles per 1000 inhabitants, the sharing offer here is four times denser than in the other cities studied. But when will the growth come to an end?

"The stagnating numbers in Berlin and Copenhagen could be the first harbingers of market saturation," says Transportation Systems student Christof Kraft, who led the ZHAW study. "It remains to be seen whether other cities will also see a stabilization of numbers in the future, or whether there will even be a decline in some cases due to legal restrictions."

More and more rules for e-scooters

Many cities in Europe have already taken measures to regulate e-scooter sharing offers. In Zurich, for example, a maximum of 800 vehicles per provider is permitted. In Vienna, in addition to a restriction to a maximum of 1500 vehicles per provider, there has been a police regulation with additional regulations and tightening since mid-2020. In Paris, an application process was conducted in the summer of 2020, in which 16 providers applied for approval in the city. In the end, three providers were selected. These will be allowed to operate in Paris over the next two years with a maximum of 5000 vehicles each. London will also conduct such a selection process in 2021.

Scooter sharing in distress

There is a great deal of competition among providers in the bikesharing market. This is evidenced by the numerous market exits and takeovers by various operators. The total number of sharing bikes has fallen by almost 15 percent. Fleet sizes in scooter sharing are also slightly down in many cities.

"On the one hand, the decrease in scooter supply can be explained by the increasing attractiveness of e-scooter sharing," says Christof Kraft. "On the other hand, the e-bikes that have been added cover those needs that scooter sharing originally targeted." The scooters are also more expensive to purchase and maintain. Students expect this sharing service to take on a smaller and smaller role in the coming years.

Source: ZHAW

The DACH Security Forum, which is the Simedia on April 27 and 28, is intended as an exclusive platform for exchanging and comparing information on the latest developments and individual solutions in individual companies across countries. The broad spectrum of topics invites interesting discussions and a diverse exchange of knowledge. This year's topics include:

• Fake News as a Challenge for Corporate Security
• Radicalization in the Digital Age: Risks, Trajectories, and Strategies for Prevention
• Practical example ECB: Innovative and pioneering digital overall concept for safety technology
• The Impact of Foreign Espionage Activities on Austria's Economy
• Crisis Management and BCM under Covid-19 at Austrian Federal Railways
• Successful fight for survival after a serious cyber attack
• Conviction of anonymous perpetrators on the linguistic dissecting table
  Between VUCA-World and Information Age - Is the Security Industry Prepared for the Future?