Swiss Cyber Security Days 2026: Digital sovereignty as a strategic necessity

The appearance of the United States of America at the World Economic Forum 2026 was an unmistakable signal: sovereignty, also and especially in the digital space, is moving further into the center of geopolitical, economic and social power issues. In this new reality, indignation is not a strategy - neither for Europe nor for Switzerland.

The Swiss capital will be at the center of this debate for two days on 17 and 18 February 2026. Under the motto "Digital Sovereignty - The New Frontier", the Swiss Cyber Security Days will bring together top national and international speakers to negotiate the digital future. High-caliber, uncomfortable and relevant.

Digital sovereignty is no longer an abstract buzzword, but a strategic necessity. Who controls data, infrastructures and identities? Who sets standards, shapes dependencies or dissolves them? And how do we secure freedom, innovation and security in an increasingly networked but fragmented world?

Leading minds from politics, technology and science

When digital sovereignty, security and geopolitical reality come together, the result is an inspiring dialog of international scope. Leading minds from politics, technology, authorities, science and international organizations will come together on stage to provide answers to the central strategic questions of Europe's and Switzerland's digital future.

Speakers at SCSD 2026 include Florian Schütz, Director of the Federal Office for Cybersecurity BACS, on cyber resilience and state protection mechanisms, Dr. Cristina Caffarra from Eurostack on European digital independence and strategic autonomy and Frank Karlitschek from Nextcloud on open source applications and sovereign digital infrastructures for governments and authorities. Dr. Jean-Marc Rickli from GCSP will speak on geopolitical power shifts in the digital age, while Prof. Dr. Dr. Oliver Hoffmann will talk about the human mind, mental economy and resilience in cyberspace.

Prof. Dr. Touradj Ebrahimi from EPFL will shed light on the importance of standards for technological sovereignty, while José Neves from the Aerospace & Defense Cluster Portugal will discuss the role of industrial clusters in the European innovation and security architecture. Bruno Giussani, long-standing European Director of TED, will focus on technology, social responsibility and global discourse. Nathalie Gratzer from NATO will speak on international security architectures, Pavlina Pavlova from the United Nations on global cybercrime and multilateral counter-strategies.

The programme will be supplemented by contributions from Fedpol, the Federal Office of Justice and Google on e-identities, the Cyber Division of the FBI and other international organizations of key security policy importance. Future topics such as post-quantum cryptography and AI security round off the program and highlight the technological course that needs to be set today in order to remain effective.

From strategy to implementation

The two curated Best Practice Stages enable the transition from strategic classification to concrete implementation. In practical experience reports, companies, authorities and solution providers will show how cybersecurity strategies and solutions are successfully introduced, operated and further developed in everyday life - from employee sensitization and incident response to the establishment of sustainable security structures.

The content is aimed at specialists and managers from SMEs and large companies as well as SMEs, authorities and user organizations. In the new SME zone, additional in-depth workshops on SME-relevant topics will be offered in cooperation with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts HSLU. The Best Practice Stages and the workshops in the SME Zone thus supplement the strategic conference program with the decisive element: practical implementation knowledge.

A total of around 100 exhibitors will be presenting their products, services and innovations at this year's Swiss Cyber Security Days.

Leading platform for cyber security

The SCSD is Switzerland's leading platform for dialog and know-how in the field of security. It offers politicians, administrators, experts and users insights into current and future threats as well as innovative solutions. National and international players use the platform for exchange, inspiration and meetings with leading security experts. The seventh SCSD will take place on February 17 and 18, 2026 at the Bernexpo site in Bern.

Swiss Cyber Security Days is a joint venture project of Bernexpo and Swiss Cyber - The Agency. President of the SCSD is National Councillor Nik Gugger. Tickets for the SCSD 2026 are here available.