A 2020 report by an independent authority indicates that three areas of the Confederation’s Intelligence Service could be improved. The reports to the Federal Council are particularly singled out.
Supervisors carried out 17 inspections in 2020 and made 55 recommendations for the attention of Defense Minister Viola Amherd.
Keystone / Peter Schneider
The Confederation’s Intelligence Service (SRC) can improve. Three areas have been singled out in particular: reports to the Federal Council, management of authorizations and processing of requests for information from citizens.
“The desire of the SRC to best fulfill its mandate within the framework provided for by law is perceptible,” the Independent Supervisory Authority for Intelligence Activities noted on Tuesday in its 2020 report. However, it does better in some areas than in others. Efforts are still needed.
Reports to the Federal Council can in particular be improved concerning partner services, operational clarifications or the search for information by informants. The complexity of managing permissions for systems and applications also continues to be a challenge.
Unequal treatment
Last problem: processing access requests. According to data protection law, anyone can receive the information stored about them free of charge within 30 days.
In reality, politicians and journalists get a quicker and more detailed response than ordinary citizens. “This contravenes the requirement of equal treatment provided for by the Federal Constitution”, denounced the head of the supervisory authority, Thomas Fritschi, in front of the media.
Report questioned
The practice of postponement is also called into question. In the event of overriding interests, the SRC may refuse, restrict or delay the communication of information. From January 1 to October 22, 2020, the SRC had deferred 444 requests out of a total of 527. In 2019, 746 requests were deferred out of 853.
The supervisory authority doubts the adequacy of the practice. Processing a request twice creates a significant administrative burden. In addition, deferred information is poorly accepted by the population and perceived as a lack of transparency.
A simple explanation of why SRC defers intelligence if no data is processed would improve understanding, supervisors note. They also suggest avoiding referring to articles of law and giving information directly regarding the different categories of data or the retention period.
No repeat of the Crypto case
Regarding the crypto affair, the supervisory authority carried out an unannounced inspection for the first time in the archives of the SRC. Thomas Firtschi admitted to having been surprised at the quantity of documents kept “over several hundred meters”.
An agreement to transfer these documents to the Federal Archives having been decided, the supervisors however refrained from making recommendations. Returning to the Crypto affair itself, Thomas Fritschi estimated that “a similar case should not happen again today”. Unless there is a criminal will.
Risks of information leakage
Military intelligence should verify the standardization of its products and data. The objective is to be able to exchange these between different platforms, both within the army and with its partners.
Risks in the area of supplier management were also noted for the Electronic Operations Center, as well as for the SRC. Due to the small number of suppliers available, there is little room for maneuver. The risks of information leakage can nevertheless be minimized by more in-depth independent clarifications of the supplier environment, within the framework of legal possibilities.
The supervisory authority continued its examination of the collaboration between the SRC and the cantons. She inspected the intelligence services of Freiburg, Zurich, Ticino, Solothurn and St. Gallen. Collaboration has improved, thanks to increased SRC efforts and increased resources, she notes.
In total, the supervisors carried out 17 inspections in 2020. They made 55 recommendations for the attention of Defense Minister Viola Amherd. Twelve have already been implemented.
Posted today at 11:33 a.m.
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