Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
How far do you trust your antivirus program? Employees of the Swiss intelligence service are said to have cooperated too closely with a Russian antivirus company, resulting in highly sensitive data being leaked.
In addition, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis comments on the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the police have broken up a human-trafficking network.
Best wishes from Bern.
Employees of the Swiss intelligence service’s cyber team are alleged to have passed on highly sensitive data to Russian intelligence services.
Are you familiar with the anti-virus programs from the Russian company Kaspersky? The cyber team at the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) also relied on these programs. This team is tasked with fending off and investigating cyberattacks. It achieved a number of successes, as can be read in an external report.
However, highly sensitive data is said to have flowed to Russian intelligence services via Kaspersky’s programs for around five years. This was reported today by SRF Investigativ in a wide-ranging investigation.
It was only when two intelligence services friendly to Switzerland threatened to stop cooperating with the FIS that the head of the unit was dismissed. However, he took his work laptop with him and only returned it later in a new configuration. According to the SRF, the government has now scheduled an external administrative enquiry.
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has called for prudence in view of the dramatic situation in Gaza and for a differentiated view of responsibilities in the Middle East conflict. He also backs diplomacy, patience and a clear stance towards both parties to the conflict.
Cassis is alarmed by the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and clearly condemns Israel’s blockade of aid supplies. At the same time, he urges a differentiated view: Palestinian militant group Hamas is also contributing significantly to the escalation, above all by continuing to take hostages. He said this in interviews with Swiss public broadcasters RTS and RSI.
In connection with the deadly incidents during the distribution of aid supplies, Cassis urged caution. The information situation is contradictory and each side is spreading its own version, he said. He therefore warns against prematurely apportioning blame.
Official Switzerland has also been criticised for not supporting the European call to place humanitarian aid under UN control. When asked whether Switzerland would reconsider its relations with Israel, Cassis replied that dialogue with all parties was important in order to find a long-term solution. Breaking off relations would not be expedient, he said. Instead, Switzerland is focusing on patience and persuasion.
Zurich city police and the public prosecutor’s office have been investigating for months. Yesterday they arrested five men in Zurich and Solothurn who are alleged to have forced young Romanian women into sex work.
The police arrested five Romanians aged between 29 and 45 yesterday during various house searches. They allegedly recruited young women from poor backgrounds as part of a criminal network in Romania and forced them into sex work in Switzerland, writes 20 Minuten.
The joint investigations with the law enforcement authorities of Romania, Europol and Eurojust uncovered a large-scale network. According to Swiss public broadcaster RTS, house searches and arrests were also carried out in Romania in connection with this network. Depending on the source, 12 or 13 men were taken into custody.
In Switzerland, the police were able to bring 11 alleged victims into contact with a victim counselling centre specialising in human trafficking. They are said to have been under constant control by the suspects and to have been subdued with violence and threats.
Parliament is finalising the implementation of the initiative to ban tobacco advertising, which was approved by voters and the cantons. After three years of debate, implementation has now been finalised at legislative level. In addition, electronic disposable cigarettes are to be banned.
The “Yes to protecting children and young people from tobacco advertising” initiative provides for a ban on advertising tobacco products at festivals, on posters and in newspapers and magazines.
However, parliament has not fully implemented the initiative, as Plattform J writes. It is aiming for a “middle way between a very liberal stance and a total ban on advertising”.
In addition, after the House of Representatives, the Senate also decided today to ban disposable vapes. These are vapour cigarettes that cannot be recharged or refilled after a single use. Some 80% of these devices end up in the rubbish bin or on the street. The government must now draw up a ban.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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