About the Cyber-Defence Campus
The Cyber Defence Campus (CYD Campus) was founded in January 2019 in order to anticipate cyber developments more quickly. It forms the link between DDPS, industry and science in research, development and training for cyber defence.
The Cyber-Defence Campus (CYD Campus) was founded in January 2019 by armasuisse Science and Technology as a reaction to the cyberattack against RUAG. This cyber incident was a wakeup call in Switzerland and in 2017, the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) issued a cyberdefence action plan with the goal to strengthen Switzerland's defense posture in the fight against cyber threats. Part of this Action Plan for Cyber-Defence (APCD) was the creation of the CYD Campus with the mission to anticipate cyber developments, to monitor trends, and to develop the required skills and technologies for cyberdefence.
With this mission in mind, the CYD Campus provides the DDPS with an anticipation and knowledge platform for identifying and assessing technological, economic and societal cyber trends. In order to be able to cooperate and collaborate with acedemia, government and industry, the CYD Campus is located at three sites: At its main site in Thun (armasuisse Science and Technology), at the EPFL in Lausanne and near the ETH in Zurich. This allows it to efficiently build know-how and provide cyber expertise, according to the needs of the Swiss Confederation. The CYD Campus therefore acts as a nexus between the private sector, the public sector and the academic community.
Our mission
In the orientation of the Cyber Strategy DDPS, the Head of DDPS, Federal Councillor Viola Amherd, defines the fields of action and the corresponding distribution of tasks. The CYD Campus is responsible for the following three tasks in order to strengthen Switzerland’s cyberdefence:
Read more about the CYD Campus in our latest annual report: