Digital Transformation & Regional Development Platform: Cybersecurity & Data Sovereignty for SMEs and Regions
On November 5, 2026, regiosuisse’s Digitalization and Regional Development platform will host a meeting focused on cybersecurity and data sovereignty for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and regions. The event will bring together several experts to assess the risks facing Swiss companies and present concrete initiatives to better support them in addressing cyber threats.
Cybersecurity and Data Sovereignty: What Are the Challenges for SMEs and Regions?
As companies accelerate their digital transformation and turn to shared platforms and infrastructure, their exposure to cyber risks increases. According to the “Cybersecurity of SMEs 2025” study cited by regiosuisse, 42% of Swiss SMEs believe they have an adequate level of protection, down from 55% a year ago.
The meeting will therefore focus as much on the evolution of threats as on the responses that can be implemented at the company and regional levels: challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), existing support mechanisms, and lessons to be learned from recent hacking incidents.
These discussions will be driven in particular by three concrete initiatives:
- Cybersecurity for Swiss SMEs: Current Status and Findings from the 2025 Study with Prof. Dr. Marc K. Peter of the FHNW School of Business & HES-SO Valais-Wallis, lead author of the study
- Trust4SMEs: Providing Practical Support to SMEs in Addressing Cybersecurity Risks with Emmanuelle Simon, Program Manager at Trust4SMEs, a program that combines specialized training, workshops, conferences, mentoring, and personalized cybersecurity support.
- ITSec4KMU: Making Cybersecurity More Accessible to SMEs with Daniel Rotzetter, a research associate at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the project leader of an initiative aimed at providing Swiss SMEs with a simple and practical approach to cybersecurity.
