New draft law: Federal Council wants less IT dependency on foreign countries
The Federal Council wants to better protect critical infrastructures against cyberattacks with stricter reporting obligations and more intervention options.
The Federal Council wants to further expand the protection of critical infrastructures against cyber attacks. To this end, it is planning a partial revision of the Telecommunications Act and new ordinances for «operators of important facilities» - including energy suppliers, transport companies, federal administrations and telecommunications companies. This is in response to the increasing number of cyberattacks and the growing dependence on digital systems from abroad.
On Wednesday, the Federal Council published the media release on its plans. The draft will now go out for consultation.
Which measures are to be introduced
Among other things, operators of critical infrastructure will have to report serious cyberattacks to the federal government within 24 hours. A reporting obligation already applies today, but only in certain areas. The Federal Council now wants to standardise and extend the requirements. The planned regulation concerns attacks that severely disrupt operations or jeopardise sensitive data. These include ransomware attacks, data leaks or central system failures. Companies and authorities should be able to provide initial information quickly and add to it later once the technical analysis has been completed.
The reports are sent to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS). The federal government hopes that this will give it a quicker picture of the situation and better opportunities to warn other authorities at an early stage. The Federal Council also wants to give the BACS additional competences. The Federal Office should be able to collect, analyse and pass on information on cyber threats more quickly. The Confederation is also planning a closer exchange with cantons, companies and international partners.
Cooperation between authorities is also to be expanded. According to the Federal Council, a picture of current threats is sometimes lacking because information does not flow at the same speed everywhere. The government wants to tackle this problem with standardised reporting channels and clearer responsibilities. At the same time, the Federal Council emphasises that the responsibility for the security of the systems remains with the respective operators. The federal government wants to support the companies, not take over their security work.
Infrastructure to become less dependent on foreign countries
Another focus of the bill concerns the technical infrastructure of critical systems and dependence on foreign suppliers. The Federal Council wants to ensure that central digital services continue to run even if the geopolitical situation worsens or international supply chains are interrupted. In future, the government should therefore be able to intervene in the procurement, construction or operation of certain equipment. For example, in the case of suppliers that are considered a security risk or are under the influence of a foreign state that Switzerland categorises as geopolitically problematic.
The discussion is also based on international debates surrounding Chinese technology providers such as Huawei. Several EU states restricted the use of such technology from sensitive network areas. However, the Federal Council emphasises that it does not want to take a discriminatory approach. The measures should be formulated in general terms and, according to the Federal Council, should not distort competition in Switzerland.
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.
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