SBB spokesman Reto Schärli confirmed to Keystone-ATS the content of an article published Wednesday evening on the online portal Watson. He did not wish to speak in more detail regarding the perpetrators of the attack. Investigations are still ongoing and the cyberattack is being analyzed in collaboration with partners and federal authorities, he said.
Cybercriminals distributed malware via email over the weekend and managed to break into part of the SBB corporate network, the spokesperson explained.
Increased security levels
However, the safety of the company’s employees was not affected, said Reto Schärli. As a precautionary measure, security levels have been increased to protect both SBB and individual data. All employees, for example, had to change their personal password.
The SBB website had already been hacked in the spring of 2016, when it became inaccessible for a short time. But the hackers had failed to approach the rail traffic security system.
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