Swiss Pension Fund Publica Confirms Data Leak from Cyberattack

Publica, the pension fund that provides pensions for employees of the Swiss federal government, has confirmed that a data leak occurred due to a cyberattack on one of its external software suppliers. The Swiss government reported that the supplier detected the attack at the end of September and subsequently filed a criminal complaint while notifying federal authorities, Publica, and its other clients.

As a result of this incident, the Office of the Attorney General has initiated an investigation. Currently, it remains unclear what specific data was compromised, but the supplier is collaborating with various federal authorities to ascertain the extent of the data affected from Publica.

Publica has not disclosed the identity of the supplier involved or the type of data that was leaked. However, the organization has informed its members about the breach, its potential implications, and the steps being taken in response to the incident. The statement issued by Publica indicated that no other federal agencies are engaged in business with the supplier in question.

Profile of Publica's Membership and Assets

Publica is one of Switzerland's largest pension funds, providing pension coverage for individuals working for the federal government and those in the ETH Domain, which includes several federal universities and research organizations. According to Swissinfo, by the end of 2025, the fund is expected to have approximately 70,000 active members and 41,600 pensioners, with assets nearing 45 billion Swiss francs.

Cleared to File

This incident is not isolated, as Swiss federal data has previously been exposed through supplier breaches. In 2023, the Play ransomware group released files stolen from Xplain, an IT company that served multiple federal agencies, including the military and customs service, resulting in the publication of around 907GB of data. Additionally, the software company Concevis fell victim to a ransomware attack that year, affecting clients such as the Federal Statistical Office and the Federal Tax Administration, leading to the theft of older federal data.

The trend of cyberattacks targeting external suppliers raises significant concerns about the security of sensitive government data. As investigations continue, the implications of these breaches on national security and public trust in governmental institutions will be closely monitored.