Federal Council publishes report on combating cybercrime in Switzerland

The report fulfills the postulates 22.3145 Silberschmidt and 22.3017 of the National Council's Security Policy Committee and takes a detailed look at the developments and gaps in national cybercrime prosecution. Both postulates relate primarily to the responsibilities and activities of the cantons. For this reason, the Federal Office of Police (fedpol), which is responsible for the report, worked together with the Swiss Security Network (SVS), which is made up of equal numbers of federal and cantonal representatives. In addition, a strategic support group and a specialist group accompanied the drafting of the report. Surveys were conducted among the authorities concerned to ascertain the situation in the cantons.

The report shows that cybercrime is steadily increasing both in terms of the number of offenses and their severity and extent of damage. The cantons and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland have therefore created specialized networks and working groups to promote coordination and cooperation in this area. The vast majority of cantons have also made organizational and personnel adjustments in order to combat cybercrime more effectively. They have expanded their capacities by establishing specialized units and creating new positions for IT forensic experts and analysts. The majority of cantonal public prosecutors' offices and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland also have public prosecutors who specialize in combating cybercrime.

Despite these efforts, the report identifies challenges:

• the lack of human and technical resources;
• the lack of a legal basis that would allow the automatic exchange of police information between the cantons;
• the lack of a national database that would provide an overview of ongoing cybercrime cases;
• the difficulties of international mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, which is relatively slow and not tailored to electronic evidence;
• the rapidly advancing technological developments (artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies, metaverse, anonymization techniques) used by criminals;
• the few reports that lead to many crimes not being prosecuted and series of crimes not being uncovered;
• the still inadequate prevention efforts in Switzerland.

The report underlines the need to coordinate prevention and repression at both national and international level. It emphasizes that even stronger cooperation and even more intensive prevention work are important for the protection of the population and companies.

A survey of experts conducted for the report shows that although organizational progress has been made, the available human and technical resources are still considered inadequate to meet the increasing demands and rapid development of cybercrime. The report suggests that each canton carry out a self-evaluation to ensure that the available resources are appropriate to the challenges.

Various optimization measures are already included in the National Cyber Strategy (NCS) adopted by the Federal Council in April 2023 and approved by the cantonal justice and police directors. The Federal Council reaffirms its commitment to continuously intensify measures to combat cybercrime. This includes, in particular, support for projects such as the National Police Interrogation Platform (POLAP), which considerably facilitates the exchange of information between police authorities and increases the efficiency of police work. The cantons and the Confederation are also working on a nationwide information platform that will provide an overview of cybercrime, among other things. These existing cooperation measures are to be strengthened and prevention efforts increased in order to reach the entire population and all companies. Fedpol is also intensifying its cooperation with Europol, Interpol and Eurojust.

Source: Federal Department of Justice and Police