ETH News
All stories that have been tagged with Security research
ETH research supply support to the Swiss state
Globe magazine
From devising forecasting models for the Federal Finance Administration and describing the latest trends in civil protection, ETH researchers routinely supply vital support to the Swiss state and help drive innovation.
Researchers outsmarted EasyRide function on Swiss travel app
News
Experiments by ETH Zurich computer security researchers showed that smartphones can be manipulated to allow the owner to ride Swiss trains for free. The researchers also highlighted ways of curbing such misuse.
“The days of à la carte cooperation are over”
News
Oliver Thränert was head of the think tank of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich for almost twelve years. On the occasion of his retirement, we spoke to him about the future challenges of Swiss security and defence policy.
Digital emblem for humanitarian law in cyberspace
News
Warfare is increasingly spreading to the realm of cyberspace. In response, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) wants to protect its digital infrastructure and that of humanitarian organisations with a digital emblem. The Information Security Group at ETH Zurich has developed a standard for this along with initial pilots.
Producing fertiliser without carbon emissions
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertiliser could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security.
Flexible leadership for the Swiss Armed Forces
News
Cognitive flexibility improves leadership, according to numerous studies conducted by ETH Zurich researchers. The Swiss Armed Forces are planning to employ this knowledge in the training of officers to better prepare them for future crises.
From Cubicle to Limelight: When expertise meets media
News
Scientists often are either in the lab or at their desks researching, thinking, writing, reading, and analysing discoveries. What happens if their expertise aligns with current affairs in the media, such as the war in Ukraine and nuclear threats? How does their work change when they suddenly have to spend more time in talk shows than in the library?
Speculative calculations open a backdoor to information theft
News
ETH Zurich researchers have discovered a serious security vulnerability in computer hardware. The vulnerability, called "Retbleed," affects microprocessors from market leaders Intel and AMD. All commercially available operating systems worldwide that use these processors are affected. When computers execute special calculation steps to compute faster, they leave traces that hackers could abuse.
ETH researchers discover vulnerabilities in Mega cloud service
News
A team of cryptographers at ETH Zurich conducted extensive testing on the New Zealand-based cloud platform Mega. In doing so, they discovered security holes that would allow the provider to decrypt and manipulate customer data.
“Neutrality is only one means among many”
News
The war in Ukraine poses some major challenges to Swiss security policy. Andreas Wenger, Director of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich, explains why we will need to broaden our understanding of defence in the future – and why international cooperation is becoming increasingly important.
Virtual world, real threats
Globe magazine
Digitalisation offers a wealth of new opportunities – and criminals and hostile states are only too happy to exploit them. Protecting against such attacks requires a broad range of measures.
Security in Asia also affects Europe
Zukunftsblog
To benefit from stability and security in Asia, Europe must rethink its relations and engagement with this region. But, as Linda Maduz points out, it is worth taking a nuanced look at the various Asian countries.
“We won’t see a second Cold War”
Globe magazine
Russia’s attack on Ukraine calls the security architecture in Europe into question. In an interview with Globe, ETH Professor Andreas Wenger explains the medium- and long-term consequences for international and Swiss security policy.
"This is a historic rupture"
News
Russia attacked Ukraine on Thursday night. ETH researcher Benno Zogg from the Center for Security Studies on President Putin’s goals, the effectiveness of sanctions and the consequences of the invasion for European security.
Vulnerability discovered in Intel
News
An international research team whose members include an ETH Zurich professor has revealed a vulnerability in the security architecture of Intel processors. Until July, Microsoft and Google products were also affected.
Toxicity testing on the placenta and embryo
News
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a cell culture test to detect substances that are directly or indirectly harmful to embryos. Based on an existing test used for developing new drugs and chemicals, the augmented version is designed to help reduce the number of animal experiments.
"Hardly anyone had anticipated this scenario"
News
The COVID-19 pandemic is putting Swiss crisis management to the test. ETH Professor Andreas Wenger and his team from the Center for Security Studies have investigated in detail how well Switzerland coped with the first phase of the crisis.
Donald Trump's trade policy and other strategic trends 2019
News
The Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich has examined the key trends in world affairs.
Pick your identity
News
ETH doctoral students of computer science show how linking two popular technologies can have highly problematic consequences for web services.
Security flaws uncovered in blockchain platform
News
ETH Zurich spin-off ChainSecurity has discovered a vulnerability in a scheduled upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain platform – in the nick of time.
Communicating effectively in crises
Zukunftsblog
To combat epidemics, the local population must be more involved and respected, says Ursula Jasper. This is one of the lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014.
Switzerland, the safest internet country in the world
Zukunftsblog
Lothar Thiele believes drastic precautions against hackers will reverse advantages of digital transformation. A better way would be to create a secure internet infrastructure.
Conflicting goals
Zukunftsblog
Safeguarding both humanitarian traditions and the interests of the domestic pharmaceutical industry creates tension in the Swiss health-related foreign policy, says Ursula Jasper.
Can conflict be predicted?
News
Modern data science techniques can also be useful in conflict research. However, in an essay published in the journal Science, Lars-Erik Cederman, Professor of International Conflict Research at ETH Zurich, suggests that certain expectations regarding the predictability of armed conflict are unrealistic. ETH News caught up with him for a chat.
Polybahn Pitch feat. Ueli Maurer
Riding the Polybahn from Central up to ETH Zurich with Ueli Maurer: the computer science professor and head of ETH Zurich’s Institute of Theoretical Computer Science tells us in a new Polybahn Pitch what he’s doing to contribute to internet security.
Expansion of Information Security
News
ETH Zurich is expanding its Zurich Information Security and Privacy Center (ZISC). A donation of five million Swiss francs has been made by Zürcher Kantonalbank to the ETH Zurich Foundation specifically for this purpose.