According to a newspaper report, the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) is concerned that Russia may be using Swiss servers as part of its campaign to destabilize Western democracies.
This content was published on August 28, 2022 – 12:26 PM
SonntagsBlick/swissinfo.ch/dos
An internal FIS document released on Sunday by SonntagsBlick said a direct attempt to influence next year’s Swiss parliamentary elections is unlikely, but it is likely that “future Russian cyberattacks on other Western elections could use Swiss servers.”
Russia’s meddling in Western electoral processes, a concern for years, is likely to continue after the invasion of Ukraine, the report says. “To do this, it will continue to use a flexible mixture of disinformation, cyberattacks, instrumentalization of individuals, groups and institutions, and possibly new strategies.”
Even if these strategies do not always directly affect the outcome of elections, they manage to “partially delegitimize democratic processes and, therefore, the” Western “liberal democratic model,” writes FIS.
Using Swiss servers for such operations would also undermine Swiss sovereignty, the secret service said.
Spy center
SonntagsBlick suggests that while Switzerland is not the only one used as a base for such operations, it may be more misguided given that, unlike many other European states, it has not expelled Russian diplomats or officials since the start of the war.
Green Party MP Gerhard Andrej told the newspaper that the FIS should also consider denying admission to Russian officials who arrived after being expelled from other EU countries and are suspected of being involved in such campaigns. As “an attractive place for traditional espionage that also applies to the digital realm”, Andrey says, Switzerland needs to adjust its priorities to focus more on protecting against spies.
FIS did not comment specifically on the report. However, the spokeswoman said SonntagsBlick that “Switzerland as a European nation and as part of the Western community is the target of anti-Western influence campaigns that promote the Russian narrative.”
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