Sensitive data of parliamentarians at risk: IT chaos in the Federal Palace

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For the 246 parliamentarians of the Federal House, it is a worrying message that they received via text message on Tuesday around 5 p.m.: “Important information for anyone who has a laptop from the parliamentary services: please do not switch off or start your device until further notice new .” Nothing more is explained. Further information will follow, the Parliamentary Services Service Point promises in the short message.

For politicians, the text message caused more confusion than clarification. Research by Blick shows that if the federal politician’s laptop is switched off, all user settings and saved documents can be deleted. The situation is extremely unpleasant for the council members. Their devices, which they can exchange every four years, often contain sensitive data or even secret documents. The spring session is currently taking place in Bern, so politicians are dependent on their laptops.

“I note this with great concern,” says SVP National Councilor Mauro Tuena (52), chairman of the Parliamentary IT Committee. ‘I receive detailed information about the causes. I hope that the parliamentary services will find a solution quickly.” Because the situation is very unpleasant for federal politicians. You can’t even close and transport your laptop.

When asked, the parliamentary services stated that individual council members were unable to access the local profile on the device when restarting their laptops due to an incorrect configuration. In order to provide clarifications, councilors were asked not to turn off their laptops, which were provided by parliamentary services. However, it is still unclear how long this will last.

Source:Blick