Service de la Curatelle

The Service de la Curatelle is a public body that provides curatelle services for adults who are unable to manage their own affairs due to incapacity. It acts as the competent authority for several communes in the Saxon region of the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The service operates under the framework of Swiss civil law concerning adult protection. Its primary function is to ensure that the personal and financial interests of vulnerable adults are safeguarded. It carries out its duties in accordance with the legal provisions that define curatelle responsibilities.

The organisation's headquarters are located in Switzerland, specifically in the Saxon municipality of the canton of Valais. It serves multiple communes within that area, although the exact number of communes served is not disclosed in the available sources. As a public authority, it falls under cantonal supervision and follows the directives of the Valais government. The service does not have a disclosed size or staff count in the provided material. Its mandate is established by legislation that assigns guardianship responsibilities to designated competent authorities.

The Service de la Curatelle is distinguished by its role as the designated competent authority for guardianship matters in its jurisdiction. In April 2023, it experienced its first known cyber incident when a ransomware attack targeted its IT systems. The attack resulted in the theft of data and prompted an investigation by cantonal police to determine the full scope of the compromise. This event marked the organisation's initial encounter with a cybersecurity threat despite its primary focus on social and legal protective services. The incident highlights the increasing exposure of public administrative bodies to ransomware risks.