The current geopolitical situation is characterized by growing dependence on digital infrastructures and increasing international tensions. For Switzerland, the Domain Name System (DNS) represents a crucial component in ensuring digital sovereignty and the protection of national interests. As a neutral state, Switzerland is particularly committed to maintaining its digital infrastructure in an independent, resilient, and trustworthy manner. Control over DNS servers and registries plays a key role in preventing external manipulation and safeguarding the integrity of the information space in Switzerland. Thus, the DNS is not only a technical foundation of the internet but also a somehow overlooked strategic element of Swiss security policy and state sovereignty. This talk examines the autonomy and dependence of Switzerland on foreign DNS infrastructure, as well as dependence on foreign industry regulations and national policies. We will see many more dependencies than you might expect and many more companies and public institutions in unhealthy and unnecessary dependencies.

About the speaker

Michael Hausding

Incident and Abuse Handler at Switch CERT

Michael Hausding is Competence Lead DNS & Domain Abuse at Switch, the registry for .ch & .li domain names. He works as an Incident and Abuse Handler for Switch CERT for the .ch registry. In his career, Michael has worked in technical security positions at major ISPs and managed security providers. He is currently on the board of the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). From time to time he is also a trainer for incident response and DNS abuse training.
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