12.03.2024, Lucerne – Swisscom, the largest telecom provider in Switzerland, has recently joined the SCION Association as its newest member. Since SCION’s inception in 2012 at ETH Zürich, Swisscom has been the first telecommunication company in Switzerland to support and advocate for the technology. Today, they mark another milestone by becoming the first telecom company in Switzerland to join the SCION Association.
Swisscom’s journey with SCION started a decade ago with investments in research projects about internet security at ETH Zürich led by Adrian Perrig, SCION inventor. Swisscom was also one of the first ISPs to get involved with the creation of the Secure Swiss Finance Network operated by the Swiss National Bank and SIX and continues to this day with their participation in the Secure Swiss Healthcare Network operated by HIN.
The SCION Association, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to advancing the global adoption of SCION, focusing on three key areas: standardization, open-source software and community building. The Association, led by a robust Board of Directors, which includes representatives from organizations such as the Swiss National Bank, Swiss International Airlines, BIS and SIX Group, will collaborate with Swisscom to make a significant contribution to influencing and steering SCION’s journey.
Egon Steinkasserer, Chief Technology Officer Swisscom Business Customers states “We take pride in this collaboration, firmly believing that SCION is a game changer, set to enhance security in data exchange over the internet, especially for critical businesses and services. In today’s landscape, our customers are increasingly susceptible to cyber threats and attacks, leading to financial losses and damage to reputation. Routing security has evolved into a significant business challenge. With SCION, we can empower our customers to overcome this challenge. We are looking forward to working with the SCION Association to promote and market SCION and support its further development and standardization.”
Nicola Rustignoli, co-CEO of the SCION Association says “We bring together the ecosystem to push the technology forward and collaborate. Having Swisscom as a member is a huge endorsement of our mission to promote SCION adoption via open standards, open source and community. Together, we will work on positioning SCION as the technology of choice and fostering more adoption in the market. SCION delivers data communication security as demonstrated by its application across critical communication infrastructures such as finance and healthcare. We’re looking forward to working together for a more secure, connected world.”
ABOUT SWISSCOM
Swisscom is the leading ICT company in Switzerland and, with Fastweb, the strongest challenger in Italy. The company offers mobile, Internet and TV, as well as comprehensive IT and digital services to private and business customers. Swisscom is the most sustainable telecommunications company in the world and is 51% owned by the Swiss Confederation.
ABOUT THE SCION ASSOCIATION
The SCION Association, a non-profit organization established in 2022, is unlocking the full potential of SCION and making it accessible to everyone through the development of the following:
- SCION specification: guidelines for developers to implement SCION in an interoperable manner.
- SCION open-source: freely available software for research, development and experimental and commercial deployments.
- SCION certification: a program to certify that SCION implementations, equipment and people working on SCION meet the required standard.
- SCION community: a networking and knowledge- sharing hub.