Maintaining the security of more than 50 State and Government forces is not an easy task, which is why Switzerland has deployed up to 4,000 soldiers.
The safety device in the luxurious resort Bürgenstock, near Lucerne, for the Peace Summit in Ukraine is colossal. The soldiers have taken positions in the multiple Checkpoints set on the winding roads that lead to the complex. They have been installed near 6.5 kilometers of fences and 8 kilometers of barbed wire around the perimeter.
To protect the more than 50 heads of state, including the French president, Emmanuel Macronthe British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the American Vice President, Kamala Harris, up to 4,000 soldiers have been deployed, as explained by Viola Amherd, president of the Swiss confederation, during a press conference held this Monday.
“An event of this magnitude requires extensive protection measures“said Swiss President Viola Amherd before the summit.
In addition, a provisional military heliport in the middle of a field to allow takeoffs and landings of the different delegations.
The Bürgenstock hotel has a long history of high-level political meetings and Its isolated mountaintop location provides an additional level of security. The ostentatious complex had already hosted peace talks on Sudan in 2002 and on Cyprus in 2004.
Threats of cyberattacks and disinformation
Las Threats are not just physicalbut also include cyber attacks and misinformation around the event. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said there was “obvious interest in disrupt the smooth running of the conference“.
The first wave of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against government websites began on Thursday. The DDoS attacks They aim to overload websites with a large number of requests. Typically, the volume of data cannot be managed by a single organization, causing website crash and the computer system.
According to the Swiss National Cybersecurity Centermore attacks are expected over the weekend.
How have the local population been affected?
More than 400 residents with homes and farms beyond the checkpoints need a special pass to access to the area. According to him Swiss news website ‘Watson’, Some residents have expressed their frustration for the organization of the conference.
“No one has asked us for our opinion,” said one woman. “That damn noise all the time“another resident also exclaimed, after a helicopter passed by.
