Swiss officials urged to avoid US hyperscale clouds

In a major data security alert, Switzerland's Privacy Conference has formally recommended that Swiss public bodies avoid using major US-based hyperscale cloud and SaaS platforms, citing significant sovereignty and legal risks, reports The Register. The resolution specifically states that services like Microsoft 365 are inappropriate for handling sensitive or confidential data, arguing they do not offer true end-to-end encryption and are subject to foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act.

The resolution asserts, "The use of SaaS applications therefore entails a significant loss of control," as providers can unilaterally change terms. In separate security news, an engineer's scan of 5.6 million public GitLab repositories uncovered 17,000 live secrets, including thousands of credentials for Google Cloud, AWS, and OpenAI, at a cost of $770. Meanwhile, fitness app Strava is updating its terms to absolve itself of risks related to users oversharing location data, which has previously exposed military personnel and officials.

Additionally, an investigation into leaked documents suggests Iran's "Charming Kitten" hacking group is involved in sophisticated operations, including assassination targeting. Reports also indicate the Israeli military may ban Android phones for senior officers.