Protect .ch and .swiss websites more strongly

The domains .ch and .swiss belong, according to the Federal Council communication, to the safest internet addresses in the world. But the methods of cybercriminals are continuously evolving. Therefore, an adaptation of the revised regulation on Internet domains (VID) had become necessary, in which the recommendations of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the global administrator of Internet addresses, could additionally be integrated.

Fight against phishing and malware

The Federal Council has given the green light for the new ordinance provisions, which will come into force on November 1, 2017. In the fight against cybercrime, all cases in which a domain name is used for phishing purposes or the distribution of malware will be taken into account in the future. Accordingly, it will be possible in the future to block .ch or .swiss websites that are not directly used for illegal activities, but which support such activities. The new rules would also define more precisely the provisional measures that the authorities could order. For example, the authority could demand that traffic leading to a potentially dangerous Internet address be redirected to it. In this way, it will be possible to locate the infected servers, inform the victims and carry out a technical analysis of their functioning in order to develop techniques to combat such criminal acts. Furthermore, it will be possible from now on to refuse the allocation of domain names ending in .ch and .swiss if they could be used for illegal purposes. The new legal bases would also facilitate administrative assistance and cooperation with private actors in the fight against cybercrime.

Allocation of .swiss domain names

The rules for .swiss, on the other hand, will have to be adapted according to the experience made with the domain in the first two years of operation, according to the statement. The principle that .swiss addresses can only be assigned to persons who are registered as sole proprietorships in the commercial register will be retained. This is because the domain, as a supplement to the extremely popular .ch domain, has become a showcase for Swiss companies and institutions on the Internet. A general opening would endanger the current image and position of .swiss both nationally and internationally.

Here you will find the explanatory report on the VID amendment.

Source: Federal Council