Objectives and need for action
National strategy for the protection of Switzerland against cyber risks 2018-2022
The Intelligence Service must be in a position to identify new attack patterns as
early as possible by means of systematic information gathering and evaluation. It
must also be able to determine the authorship of attacks as accurately as possible
(attribution), so that the freedom of action of the political and prosecution
authorities is safeguarded.
In the event of attacks on operators of critical infrastructures, the Intelligence
Service must be able to fulfil its mandate under the IntSA with the involvement of
supporting units.
The Armed Forces play a crucial role as a strategic reserve for the subsidiary
support of civil administrative units and in the event of mobilisation. The Armed
Forces must therefore be able to guarantee operational readiness across all
situations in the area of cyber defence.
Measures
22) Expansion of capabilities for information gathering and attribution
Existing specialist knowledge and information gathering capabilities for the early
identification of cyber attacks and their authorship will be further developed, cooperation
between the Confederation and the cantons will be strengthened, and information
exchange with the private sector will be expanded. The Federal Intelligence Service
conducts in-depth actor and environment analyses, and it uses and develops technical
aids, telecommunications monitoring and human intelligence methods. In this way, cyber
attacks are systematically processed and tracked.
23) Capability for implementing active measures in cyberspace under the IntSA and
ArmA
The DDPS (FIS and Armed Forces) has sufficient qualitative and quantitative
competencies and capacities to disrupt, prevent or slow down attacks on critical
infrastructures where necessary. These measures are used in accordance with the legal
requirements of the IntSA and ArmA.
24) Ensuring the Armed Forces' operational readiness across all situations in
cyberspace and regulating their subsidiary role in support of the civilian
authorities
As part of the Upgrading of the Armed Forces (UAF), the Armed Forces ensure that they
have sufficient means, resources and capabilities to carry out their mandate under the
ArmA in the extraordinary situation in cyberspace. The Armed Forces should also be
prepared to support civilian authorities as a strategic reserve on a subsidiary basis. They
train their officers and personnel accordingly and, together with the civilian authorities of
the federal government and the cantons, they define the framework under which they
provide subsidiary support in the event of cyber incidents, what tasks they can assume in
such cases, and how such an operation is triggered specifically.
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