Shortly before the start of the WEF

Thousands of soldiers receive mysterious marching orders - what's behind them

Swiss soldiers at the WEF. (symbolic image)

KEYSTONE

Shortly before the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, thousands of members of the armed forces received an alleged mobilization order by text message. However, the action was not a genuine alert, but a planned cyber security exercise by the Swiss Armed Forces.

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Around 5000 soldiers received a suspicious text message with an alleged deployment order before the WEF.
Anyone who clicked on the link was directed to a page that indicated a phishing test.
The campaign is part of an awareness-raising campaign by the Swiss Armed Forces Cyber Command.

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Shortly before the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the focus was not only on security measures surrounding the conference, but also on the soldiers themselves. Almost 5,000 members of the Swiss Armed Forces received a text message on their cell phones with a supposed "MOB deployment order", supplemented with a link to alleged additional information, writes the "Aargauer Zeitung" newspaper

Anyone who followed this link landed on a website with a clear message: the response was false, the click was part of a deliberately staged phishing attack. Such fraud attempts aim to steal sensitive data such as passwords or access codes.

The action was initiated by the Swiss Armed Forces Cyber Command. "This is not a real attack, but an exercise," confirmed spokeswoman Lorena Castelberg. It is not yet clear how many members of the armed forces clicked on the link. An evaluation will only be made after the test has been completed, which will run until the start of the WEF.

No mobilization orders via SMS

The Cyber Command conducts such phishing tests every year. Although awareness of cyber threats is already well developed within the army, regular training is still required. Attack methods are constantly evolving, increasingly with the help of artificial intelligence.

One thing is clear from the army's perspective: mobilization orders are not sent by text message. Instead, the army has been relying on digital solutions since October 2024. Marching orders and other service information can be accessed via the "DIM Wallet" app, which is linked to the army's digital service manager and also works without an internet connection.

During the WEF, members of the Armed Forces support the protection of critical infrastructure in Davos. They also provide logistics and command support in other regions of the country. The deployment is based on the principle of subsidiarity - responsibility lies with the civilian authorities of the canton of Graubünden.