Switzerland adopts new checks against foreign espionage

Under pressure from India and other countries to share banking information, Switzerland on Wednesday decided to beef up its IT security framework to protect against espionage by foreign intelligence services. At a meeting held on Wednesday, the Swiss government’s apex <g data-gr-id="16">decision making</g> <g data-gr-id="15">body</g>, the Federal Council, approved a revision of the country’s ICT (Information, Communication and Technology) security framework. “A verification process will now be applied to reduce the risk of ICT providers that are exploited by intelligence services spying on information through procurement projects for the Federal Administration. The new directives will come into effect on January 1, 2016,” the Federal Council said. 

The Council said intelligence services of various nations pursue a comprehensive information gathering strategy. “These services can oblige ICT industry in their country not to comply with contractual and statutory confidentiality obligations,” it said in a statement from Berne. Switzerland has widely been known as a ‘safe haven’ for alleged illicit funds of foreigners, including Indians, given the high secrecy practices followed by their banks.