You learn from mistakes, as the saying goes. This does not seem to apply to the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB).
As if the fichen scandal of the 1980s never happened, the secret service continues to collect mountains of data from parties, politicians and even organizations like the scout – although this is only allowed if there is a suspicion of terrorism or espionage.
The regulators and parliament repeatedly reprimanded the FIS. The Intelligence Service Act was clarified – unsuccessfully. Only in the summer did the FIS make the news again because it had spied on politicians.
It has now been officially confirmed that the FIS has also failed to comply with the law in the cyber area. The legal situation was “misjudged”. The necessary sensitivity is therefore still lacking – among the secret service agents and their former boss Jean-Philippe Gaudin (60).
If the FIS is constantly hiding behind secrecy, it at least needs confidence that it is following the law.
Again, everyone promises to get better. Federal Councilor Viola Amherd refrained from filing criminal charges and the FIS was released again. Anyone who thinks they will learn from this time is naive. The FIS has betrayed its confidence, the screw still needs to be tightened.