Cybersecurity: Inspired by Hiro Protagonist – A Podcast on the Reality of Science Fiction

Cybersecurity: Inspired by Hiro Protagonist – A Podcast on the Reality of Science Fiction

Florian Schütz, the Federal Cybersecurity Delegate, coordinates the national strategy for the protection of Switzerland against cyberrisks. Find out in our podcast how, together with banks, insurance companies and infrastructure providers such as SIX, he is increasing the cyberresilience of the financial center and what a cyberpunk novel from the 1990s has to do with it.

Who Is Hiro Protagonist?

Hiro Protagonist is – as his name suggests – the main character in the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. In a dystopian Los Angeles, he delivers pizzas. But he is also a swordsman and “hacker.” In the latter role, he helped to program the so-called Metaverse – Facebook comes to mind – a parallel world in which people can immerse themselves as avatars thanks to virtual reality goggles.

Florian Schütz: the First Federal Cybersecurity Delegate

When Snow Crash was released in 1992, the Internet was still far from what it is today. Nevertheless, Neal Stephenson foresaw much of what makes up today’s digitalized world.

Florian Schütz emphasizes that science fiction will always remain storytelling, but can certainly make us think about current phenomena. In connection with Snow Crash, for him these include computer viruses or the shift of power from government organizations to private companies. Florian Schütz is the first federal cybersecurity delegate, a position that was created in 2019. In this role, Florian Schütz heads the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and coordinates the national strategy for the protection of Switzerland against cyberrisks.

What Is the Swiss Financial Sector Cybersecurity Centre?

Under the leadership of the NCSC, the State Secretariat for International Finance, the Swiss Bankers Association, the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss Insurance Association, the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland, and SIX laid the foundations for the establishment of the association Swiss Financial Sector Cybersecurity Centre (Swiss FS-CSC).

The Swiss FS-CSC aims to increase the cyberresilience of the Swiss financial center. In particular, it aims to improve the exchange of information and collaboration in prevention as well as the management of crisis situations. In the latest episode of our podcast, Florian Schütz explains the characteristics and advantages of such a public-private partnership, makes cyberrisks an issue for the board of directors, and, as a bonus, gives useful cybersecurity tips.

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