On 31 January 2019 the Federal Council announced its intention to create a cybersecurity competence centre to provide a one-stop national point of contact for all cybersecurity issues. The plan is a response to requests from Parliament and the business community and is a step towards implementing Switzerland's national strategy for protection against cyber risks (NCS).
The Federal Council's press release is available in German, French and Italian.
The competence centre aims to answer all questions associated with cyber risks. It will have an operational unit based on the expertise of the federal Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance (MELANI), as well as a strategic unit with a delegate who will:
- be the contact point for politicians, the media and the public; and
- lead the interdepartmental bodies in the field of cyber risks.
The competence centre will also provide support at the federal administration level for the prevention, standardisation and regulation of cybersecurity issues. It may also issue guidelines to federal offices on the managment of cyber incidents (for further details please see "Revised domain name rules grant further powers to registries and anti-cybercrime services").
The Federal Council's leadership role will also be strengthened. To this end, it has created a cyber delegation, which will be led by ministers from:
- the Federal Department of Finance;
- the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports; and
- the Federal Department of Justice and Police.
The cyber delegation will ensure effective coordination in strategic areas such as civil cyber security, military cybersecurity and cybercriminality.
The cantons, business community and universities will also be integrated into the overall security strategy, and their representatives will sit on the NCS steering committee.
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