Ensuring greater security: ethical hackers target Swiss Post’s e-voting system
For Swiss Post, security has top priority when it comes to e-voting. That’s why, for a number of years now, it has had its system tested by ethical hackers from around the globe – under real-world conditions. The public intrusion test in summer 2026 is an important element in identifying any vulnerabilities early on and continuously strengthening the system.
Stefan DaunerMedia SpokesmanReading Time 1 minute
Attacks in the interest of security
During the public intrusion test (PIT) from 6 to 24 July 2026, ethical hackers will once again have the opportunity to target the voting system and look for vulnerabilities. This transparency is a deliberate choice and a legal requirement: when independent experts examine the system, potential vulnerabilities can be found and rectified. This helps make e-voting in Switzerland ever more secure.
New this year: extended testing option
In 2026, for the first time, Swiss Post is making the environment available in such a way that certain protective measures (network security measures) are deactivated. The outermost protective layer is effectively being removed for the attacks. These new test conditions differ from the real-world e-voting environment used for contests, but they enable more in-depth testing. Interested IT specialists have already registered with Swiss Post in advance for these extended tests. All other tests can be done without registration.
Swiss Post pays rewards of up to 230,000 euros
Swiss Post has made the security-related components and documents of its e-voting system publicly available since 2021. For confirmed vulnerabilities, known as bugs, the company pays rewards (bounties) of up to 230,000 euros. For the first three confirmed findings in the intrusion test, Swiss Post pays an additional bonus of 3,000 euros. Since the launch of the bug bounty programme for e-voting, Swiss Post has paid out a total of around 246,000 euros to ethical hackers for confirmed findings.So far, no one has found a critical security gap in Swiss Post’s e-voting system