Ueli Maurer (72) has to admit defeat. The outgoing SVP finance minister has lost one of his last battles. Defense Minister Viola Amherd (60) was able to assert herself in the Federal Council: the planned Federal Office for Cyber Security will be in her Department of Defense (VBS). This was decided by the government on Friday.
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important. The war in Ukraine is a good example of this: in addition to rocket attacks and artillery fire, Russia has also repeatedly carried out cyber attacks. Russian hackers took down the website of the Ukrainian government. British intelligence has repeatedly warned that Russia is increasingly seeking cyber targets.
Maurer has to give up cybersecurity
In order to give cyber security more weight in Switzerland, the Federal Council had already decided in the spring to upgrade the current National Center for Cyber Security (NCSC) to a separate federal office. However, he then left open which department this should be affiliated with.
For historical reasons, the NCSC was previously located in the General Secretariat of Maurer’s Finance Department. It supports operators of critical infrastructures in preventing and handling security-related incidents and has a national hotline for questions about cybersecurity for citizens and businesses.
New office to work more efficiently
Amherd had also long announced ambitions. She wants to expand the cyber defense of the military for billions anyway. At the same time, cyber security must now also be strengthened at the civilian level.
This argument also seems to resonate with Amherd’s colleagues in the Federal Council: Amherd was convinced to the media that the NCS would be strengthened thanks to the synergies with the skills already available in the DDPS. “We can work more efficiently with the available resources.”
A journalist wanted to know if it was easier to trump fellow Federal Councilor Maurer because he was about to resign. But Amherd denied this: “Ueli Maurer carries out his work very correctly until the last day.”
The cost implications are still unclear
Like the NCSC, the planned federal office will also provide a national reporting and contact point for cyber-attacks, disseminate information and alerts, and raise awareness among the economy and the public to protect against attacks from the Internet. As before, it also aims to protect the federal government from cyber-attacks.
The Federal Council has now instructed the DDPS to create the structures of the new Federal Bureau by the end of March 2023. Amherd admitted that it is still unclear what the costs of transferring the NCSC to Defense will be. One thing is clear: the cabinet had already decided in the spring that another 25 functions for protection against cyber risks had to be created at the same time.
Amherd leaves her political future open
And what are the consequences of this coup for Amherd’s political future? It is rumored that after next week’s Federal Council elections, the Minister of Defense could move to the Department of Environment, Transport and Energy. When asked, Amherd had to smile mischievously. She left it open to the media whether she would stay in the DDPS after the end of the year. The guesswork continues.