Strengthening civil security – Confederation creates new State Secretariat for Security in the DDPS – News

  • The Federal Council creates a new State Secretariat for Security in the Defense Department (DDPS). From January 1, 2024, it will develop and coordinate an overall security policy.
  • The cyber security center is moving from the finance department to the DDPS.
  • Defense Minister Viola Amherd informed the media in Bern about the plans.

    The war in Ukraine gave impetus to the new state secretariat. “This war shows us that there is an urgent need for action,” said Defense Minister Amherd. In addition to military means, wars are increasingly being waged with hybrid means.

    These included cyber attacks, disinformation, influencing, pressure attempts or extortion through to covert operations. The Federal Councilor explained that security policy cannot therefore be limited to defence.

The new State Secretariat will be created in the DDPS as a civil authority and will report directly to Defense Minister Amherd. It takes over previous tasks of the security policy department in the General Secretariat and other positions in the DDPS. It should perceive and coordinate security policy from a holistic perspective.

New Federal Office for Cyber ​​Security


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The National Center for Cyber ​​Security (NCSC) will also move from the Federal Finance Department (FDF) to the Defense Department at the beginning of 2024. At the same time it becomes a federal office. The state government had already decided on the change in December 2022.

The Federal Council approves the transfer of funds of CHF 13.7 million per year for the new federal office. In addition, the Federal Office needs an additional 0.8 million Swiss francs, as it performs tasks such as finance, human resources, IT and law itself. This requires four additional positions. The EVS General Secretariat had carried out these tasks for the NCSC.

The State Secretariat analyzes the national and international security situation together with the federal intelligence service, the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) and the responsible offices in the Department of Foreign Affairs. The division of tasks between the departments and between the Confederation and the cantons remains unchanged.

The creation of the State Secretariat should take into account the increased need for coordination among the actors involved, Amherd said. Especially when it comes to protecting critical infrastructures. “The war in Ukraine has shown that critical infrastructures were attacked by cyber attacks in a preparatory manner and even before the war threshold.”

Funds are compensated internally

The new State Secretariat is also responsible for the national strategy for protecting critical infrastructure. It manages the offices of the Federal Council’s Security Committee and the Security Core Group, which it also heads. It is also the point of contact for the Swiss Security Association.

In concrete terms, the new authority will also take over the personal safety check. With the new State Secretariat, the Federal Council wants to ensure that it can react quickly and flexibly to important security policy developments. The DDPS compensates for the resources and funds internally.

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