The human factor of security is getting more and more important. In times of a constant increase of complexity in our digitalised world, the user becomes the target of cybercriminals. Technical measures are not enough to keep our systems secure, the user needs to become part of the security process.
Security Awareness is supposed to help, but the challenges are great and many – missing communication expertise, support and resources are just a few.
The Swiss Security Awareness Day aims at giving some insights into the different possible ways to deal with Security Awareness while pointing out where to get support and what is most crucial for being successful.
Earn up to 3.75 CPEs and get a certificate of attendance.
We welcome professionals from fields such as digital education, communications, IT, security, or marketing to engage in our talks and discussions. Our event is open to anyone who plays a role in, has an interest in, or is simply curious about security awareness.
Raising awareness, educating, and training users in information security requires a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach.
Language of the event will be English.
Tom Kleiber, CEO, Switch
Katja Dörlemann, Security Awareness Expert, Switch
Marcus Beyer, iBarry, SISA
Moderation: Dr. Melanie Knieps, UZH
Dr. Katja Iseli, Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG
Prof. Dr. Nico Ebert, Professor for Information Systems, ZHAW
Prof. Dr. Verena Zimmermann, Assistant Professor for Security, Privacy and Society, ETH Zurich
Nicole Van der Meulen, SURF
Meet your peers and experience the mini games of the famous Security Arena by known_sense.
Prof. Dr. Kristin Weber, THWS
Rolf Theisinger, DFS
Meet your peers and experience the mini games of the famous Security Arena by known_sense.
Timo Nöthling, Head of Digital Change Specialists | Siemens Energy
Getting your workforce to adopt cyber-secure working practices can be a hard sell. So how do we inform, motivate and empower our colleagues to work cybersecurely? With small adjustments that have a big impact.
In this workshop, you will learn about the four scientifically proven "change makers" that help to transform behaviours. Examples from Siemens Energy's Cybersecurity Awareness Team and practical exercises will help you to apply these powerful techniques in a cybersecurity context.
Marcus Beyer, Security Awareness Officer | Swisscom (Schweiz) AG
Der Fachkräftemangel ist und bleibt ein grosses Problem in der IT und im Bereich der Cybersecurity. Auch wenn die Ausbildungsangebote der Hochschulen wir Pilze aus dem Boden schießssen, kann der heutige Bedarf an Fachkräften noch nicht gedeckt werden. Eine gute und probate Lösung ist die Aus- und Weiterbildung der eigenen Leute. Upskilling auf breiter Ebene. Marcus Beyer zeigt in seinem Workshop, was die Swisscom hier bereits macht und wird einige Trainingsansätze live zeigen. Gemeinsam werden die Teilnehmende mal eine Krisensimulation live lösen. Es wird also interaktiv.
Jasmina Mešić, Coordinator of national awareness raising programme on cybersecurity | SI-CERT
Join us for a workshop titled "One Size Doesn't Fit All: Developing an Effective Content Strategy," where we will explore the essential elements of impactful communication in cybersecurity. First part of the session will focus on covering key principles like content formats, choosing the right channels, understanding your audience, and effective content creation. Practical examples will be shown to illustrate how to tailor messages both visually and verbally, including an example of online video course, which uses engaging videos tailored to various job roles.
Second part of the session will be an interactive workshop providing a practical insight into designing awareness campaigns tailored to different organizational contexts. Participants will be working in smaller groups, each assigned a specific organization profile and cybersecurity issue that should be addressed. They'll brainstorm activities and channels to effectively convey their message, craft a compelling Call-To-Action message, and present their campaign strategy to the workshop.
Dr. Robert Lohmann, Product Manager Learning Content | imc – information multimedia communication AG
Meet your peers and experience the mini games of the famous Security Arena by known_sense.
Manu Alexander, SBB AG (Swiss Federal Railways)
Rosanne Pouw, SURF
Dr Katja Iseli has been working at Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG since January 2020, currently as Head of Development & Learning. She is responsible for the further development of human and organisational aspects, including the safety culture programme, the human-machine interface, the LEAN programme and central training and basic vocational training. She previously worked as a project manager and career counsellor at the canton of Basel-Landschaft and in the HR department of various SMEs. After completing a commercial apprenticeship and studying psychology at the ZHAW, she obtained her doctorate from the University of Hildesheim in 2014. Dr Iseli is continuously training in psychology and related fields.
Nico Ebert is Professor for Information Systems at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and head of the Human Factors and Risks group. He has a PhD in Information Systems from the University of St. Gallen and several years of practical experience in IT consulting. His research interests include organizational and behavioral aspects of security and privacy, security and privacy by design, and human-computer interaction.
Verena Zimmermann is Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) for Security, Privacy and Society at ETH Zürich. Her research interests comprise the Human Aspects of Safety, IT Security and Privacy. She has completed her dissertation in the interdisciplinary research area of Usable Security at TU Darmstadt. Within the research group Work and Engineering Psychology and ATHENE, the German National Center for Applied Cybersecurity, she worked on several security-related research projects. The topics ranged from usable authentication over privacy-friendly smart home concepts and the human-centered design of hand-over tasks in smart cars to addressing security challenges in smart cities.
Nicole van der Meulen is an expert and thought leader in the area of cybercrime and cybersecurity. Currently she serves as Cybersecurity Innovation Lead at SURF. Previously she was the Head of Policy & Development at Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), where she was responsible, amongst others, for the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA). Prior to Europol, she held various positions in the Dutch public sector, academia and nonprofit organisations all focused on enhancing the fight against cybercrime and improving cyber security. She obtained her PhD from Tilburg University on a comparative study focusing on digital identity fraud in the United States and the Netherlands.
Founder and managing director of the awareness agency known_sense based in Cologne/Germany, co-organizer of TAKE AWARE EVENTS, the biggest security awareness conference in Europe and, together with Michael Helisch, author of the first book on security awareness in German language. Since 2005, he has carried out awareness campaigns for internal communication and gamification events for employees of more than 100 companies in 60 countries and 30 languages. With known_sense, he has received numerous awards in the security branch, including the the German "OSPA - Oustanding Security Performance Award" (2015) for an "Outstanding Initiative for Security Training" and, together with T-Systems International, the "Most innovative awareness campaign" by Intzernbational Security Forum in 2013.
Timo Nöthling has been communicating for Siemens Energy since 2019 - initially in global communications, and from 2021 in cybersecurity. As Head of Digital Change Specialists, he plans and implements multimedia content with the goal of anchoring cybersecure behavior in the DNA of the company and in the daily actions of all employees.
Jasmina Mešić is a team member of Slovenian national CSIRT and has coordinated Slovenia’s security awareness programme for over 10 years. The programme has won multiple awards for innovation and design, including the 2020 Slovenian Grand Security Award. Jasmina is a holder ofSANS Security Awareness Professional certificate and is certified Information Security manager ISO/IEC 27001:2022. She studied media communication at a faculty of electrical science and computer engineering what helps her to combine communications skills with a strong understanding of technology and cybersecurity.
Marcus Beyer has more than 20 years of experience as a communicator, change manager, moderator, social engineer and consultant in the field of IT and information security. Internal (project) communication with a focus on information security, IT and/or BCM processes is his métier, security awareness his mission. He has been responsible for the security awareness & training programmes at Swisscom (Schweiz) AG for almost 4 years and actively promotes the change process towards a stable and sustainable security culture within the company. He is a member of the Advisory Board at Hoxhunt, on the board of the Swiss Internet Security Alliance (SISA) and is the host of the ‘SecurityAwarenessInsider’ podcast.
Robert Lohmann is an expert in digital learning with a focus on creating new ideas and products. He has now been working for imc - information multimedia communication AG for three years as Product Manager Learning Content. Previously, he taught and researched at several German and European universities and worked for a large German foundation in Berlin.
Manu Alexander is an Information Security and Risk Manager specializing in security awareness at SBB. He creates tailored educational programs to reach SBB's diverse workforce, including office staff, train operators, railway police, and construction project managers. Educated in Austria, India, Switzerland, England, and Canada, he values diversity as crucial in cybersecurity. Manu actively exchanges knowledge with experts and attends conferences globally. He is also an examiner for ICT Berufsbildung Schweiz.
Rosanne feels that her current role as Product Manager Awareness & Training is the perfect combination of human behavior, cybersecurity and product development. She helps institutions and organizations in the Dutch education and research sector increase security and privacy awareness among faculty, students and staff. SURF provides awareness materials, e-learnings and more in the Cybersave Yourself awareness toolkit. As the Dutch National Research and Educational Network, they develop strategy and implement activities to support the R&E sector by achieving a higher maturity level for security and privacy awareness
Melanie Knieps is a researcher with a background in psychology who focuses on the social aspects of cybersecurity at the Digital Society Initiative of the University of Zurich. She is leading the "Cyber Resilience Network for the Canton of Zurich" (CYREN ZH), which aims to protect the self-determination of Zurich as a business location and its population by establishing a task force of civilian first responders for the digital space. The project also seeks to strengthen cooperation between various actors in the canton of Zurich and provide new training and education opportunities in the field of cybersecurity.
Melanie is also a postdoctoral researcher in the NRP-77 project "Promoting trust in cybersecurity through ethics and law," which aims to provide valuable data, insights, and recommendations regarding the non-technical aspects of cybersecurity. Her particular interest lies in identifying the factors that can promote knowledge exchange among cybersecurity experts, such as trust and other organizational components.
Prof. Dr. Kristin Weber is the Vice President for Digitalisation and CIO at the Technical University Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS). As a professor at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Systems, she researches and teaches about the human factor in information security. Kristin Weber is also an author, speaker, and consultant for information security awareness, ISMS, data governance and data quality management. She served as Information Security Officer for THWS 2017-2024.
Katja Dörlemann is a Security Awareness Expert at Switch. She supports the Swiss education, research and innovation community and Internet community in dealing with the human factor in information security. She promotes knowledge sharing and networking among experts in the field to advance the topic of security awareness. Additionally, she is a board member of the Swiss Internet Security Alliance. Katja has been gaining experience in the field of security awareness for almost 15 years and holds a PhD in General and Comparative Literature from the University of Zurich.
The ibarry.ch information platform is backed by the Swiss Internet Security Alliance (SISA). Our vision is to make Switzerland the most secure internet country in the world. Trustworthy and comprehensible information for Swiss internet users makes a major contribution to this vision. iBarry provides information and self-help tools that are created and maintained by an Advisory Board composed of experts.