In a report published on MondayExternal link, the service described how – in special cases requiring permission – it had taken advantage of the option to monitor mobile phones, hack computers and use tracking devices or bugs to watch certain people and places.
In the first four months, the service employed such methods 40 times as part of four operations. Two were related to terrorism, and the other two had to do with illegal surveillance.
The monitoring measures must be approved by the Federal Administrative CourtExternal link and Defence Minister Guy Parmelin, who has to discuss them in advance with Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
The law also provides access to internet communication data, but the technology is still being developed. As Parmelin said in the report’s forward, these forms of surveillance will only be used when there is a serious security threat.
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Swiss intelligence says 100 people pose ‘high risk’ to security
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The number of “people at risk”, representing a high security threat, has risen by 10 to 100 since the last figures were presented by the FIS in May. Those identified as posing a high security risk to Switzerland include not just potential jihadists but also those who support or encourage terrorism and any kind of…
Swiss football boss wants crackdown on individual hooligans
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The head of the Swiss Football League says he prefers a harsher approach to individual hooligans rather than collective punishment measures affecting all fans.
Amherd: Council of Europe is ‘as urgently needed as ever’
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The Swiss government emphasised on Sunday the vital role of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, 75 years after it was founded.
Swiss minister: Italy will back Switzerland in EU talks
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Bern can count on the backing of Italy as it re-enters talks with the European Union on future relations, Viola Amherd says.
Student protestors at University of Lausanne continue pro-Palestine sit-in
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Since Thursday, a hall on campus has been occupied by students calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Swiss public broadcasters RTS and SRF are drastically reducing their communications via the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Israel: president of Swiss universities rejects academic boycott
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Luciana Vaccaro, president of Swissuniversities, the umbrella group of Swiss universities, is not in favour of an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
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Swiss intelligence services ignored spying laws
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A parliamentary oversight body says the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) ignored regulations and badly managed a Swiss man they employed to spy on German tax authorities.
Switzerland is a favourite hub for foreign spies, reports paper
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Switzerland is reportedly a favoured meeting place for foreign secret service agents, but Swiss intelligence is keen to clamp down on the encounters.
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Presenting the cabinet’s proposed legislation on intelligence services, Defence Minister Ueli Maurer stressed on Wednesday that any such intervention would require approval from cabinet members and judges on a case-by-case basis. He said the procedure would only be implemented in about ten cases a year and checks by parliamentary and administrative bodies would be increased.…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.