Hard battle for a new position: this diplomat must protect Switzerland from cyber attacks

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That is a surprise! To lead the planned State Secretariat for Security Policy (Sepos) of Defense Minister Viola Amherd (61), the government pulled a name out of the hat that almost no one had thought of: Jean-Daniel Ruch (60), current ambassador in Turkey.

The Federal Council praises Ruch as an in-depth expert in the field of security policy at home and abroad. After studying international relations and security policy in Geneva and working for three years as an international relations analyst in the then military department, Ruch started a diplomatic career in 1992.

Ruch would not have been Amherd’s preferred candidate

His career initially included positions at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) or as a political advisor to the then Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte (76) of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. From 2008, he worked as Special Representative for the Middle East before becoming head of the Swiss Mission in Belgrade in 2012, later in Tel Aviv and from 2021 in Ankara.

The personnel decision had been expected for several weeks. Behind the scenes, however, it was always heard that a hard battle was raging in the Federal Council. Pälvi Pulli (52), the current head of security policy at the Ministry of Defense (VBS), was always considered Amherd’s preferred candidate.

But Pulli is said to have been received with great skepticism on several occasions. In the SVP, for example, she is depicted as an ‘internationalist’ who wants to promote rapprochement with NATO and attaches little value to strict neutrality. Critical voices were also repeatedly heard from the army. The army would feel that Pulli is not taking it seriously enough. In Ruch we have now found someone who is less politically biased, experts say.

The war in Ukraine was the reason

The State Secretariat is expected to start work as early as next year, taking into account the increased need for coordination between the agencies involved. Together with the Federal Intelligence Service, the Federal Police Office and the responsible authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the aim is to analyze the national and international security situation.

The reason for the new State Secretariat was the war in Ukraine, as Defense Minister Amherd explained in April: “This war shows us that urgent action is needed.” In addition to military means, wars are increasingly being waged using hybrid means.

These included cyber attacks, disinformation, influence peddling, pressure attempts or blackmail and even covert operations. Security policy cannot therefore be limited to defence, according to the Federal Councilor. The war in Ukraine has shown that critical infrastructure is also under attack below the war threshold. An increase in cyber attacks is also noticeable in Switzerland. It is important to join forces here.

However, it is still unknown exactly how the new State Secretariat will be set up and what tasks it will carry out. Defense Minister Amherd no longer has homework.

Source:Blick