Swiss Criminal Code, Unauthorised Access to and Interference with Data Processing Systems
Swiss Criminal Code (StGB/CP/CP), SR 311.0, Art. 143, 143bis, 144bis
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force since 1 January 2012.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 6 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not defeat a security measure to obtain unauthorised access to a data processing system, knowing the access is unauthorised.
- Reading a public, unauthenticated page without defeating any access control has not itself been held to violate these provisions.
- Do not obtain specially secured data not intended for you for your own or another's unlawful gain, and do not alter, delete or render unusable data stored or transmitted electronically without authority.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Article 143bis(1): a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or a monetary penalty, prosecuted on complaint. Article 143(1): a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or a monetary penalty for unlawful-gain data acquisition. Article 144bis(1): a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or a monetary penalty for unauthorised data interference, rising to five years and ex officio prosecution where the offender caused major damage.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Access restriction, Prohibition
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Article 143bis penalises, on complaint, any person who obtains unauthorised access by means of data transmission equipment to a data processing system that has been specially secured to prevent access, by a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or a monetary penalty; its current wording dates from the Federal Decree of 18 March 2011 implementing the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, in force since 1 January 2012.
Article 143 punishes, with a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or a monetary penalty, obtaining specially secured data not intended for the offender for the offender's own or another's unlawful gain, a narrower, gain-motivated offence whose current terminology dates from 1 January 2007.
Article 144bis punishes, on complaint, altering, deleting or rendering unusable data stored or transmitted electronically without authority, escalating to a custodial sentence not exceeding five years and prosecution ex officio where major damage results; its current wording dates from the sentencing-policy harmonisation act in force since 1 July 2023.
When LexLint raises it
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