3.5 International cooperation The FDFA's Directorate of Political Affairs promotes international contacts between Switzerland and states and international organisations that are grappling with cyberspace threats, thereby creating the prerequisites for Switzerland to cooperate internationally. The Directorate of Public International Law of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs monitors international developments at the level of public international law, namely the connection between the use of cyber means in inter-state conflicts and humanitarian law. As part of various initiatives, international regulations are currently being discussed. These should make it possible to institutionalise the permanent exchange of information on technologies, protective measures, risk development and perpetrators. They should also lead to more efficient administrative and mutual assistance in criminal proceedings, and enable the development and implementation of joint security measures. Within the scope of implementing the results of the UN World Summit on the Information Society, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 12 took the lead in coordinating international efforts in the field of cyber security and established a roadmap for its activities and goals. Switzerland is involved in this work. In recent years, many countries have adopted comprehensive cyber strategies (e.g. Germany, France, the Netherlands), although previously they were only engaged in selected bilateral and multilateral activities and fields. There are individual states that have since deployed a wide range of instruments to protect themselves against cyber risks (e.g. national strategies, measures and defence centres with management structures). A periodic comparison with these strategies is advisable. This is particularly the case because Switzerland has chosen an approach which does not seek simply to resolve deficiencies in the perception of cyber aspects and the lack of operational cooperation within existing business, production and administrative processes by creating a central coordination platform; it is seeking to do so within the competent and responsible units and structures at all levels. 3.6 Legal basis Myriad federal acts and ordinances currently form the legal basis for cyberspace. This is logical, as increased networking and greater use of means of communication also mean that existing tasks and responsibilities entail more cyber aspects, a fact that is reflected in the respective acts and ordinances. The problem is that there is almost no coordination of these legal provisions, and in some cases they are still incomplete. The information protection requirements for the Federal Administration and the armed forces have been summarised by the Federal Council in the Information Protection Ordinance (InfoPO) 13, which is valid until 31 December 2014. However, Parliamentary Services, federal courts, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland as well as cantonal offices which receive information from the Confederation are not included, or only to a limited extent. 12 For information on ITU cyber security activities, see: http://www.itu.int/cybersecurity/ 13 SR 510.411 Ordinance of 4 July 2007 on the Protection of Federal Information 23/42