The Swiss Armed Forces are to receive a cyber command at the beginning of 2024. There will be a cyber battalion and a cyber staff as early as next year. This will significantly strengthen the role of the army in cyberspace.
The terrain is invisible, the enemy anonymous and unpredictable, the potential collateral damage severe. This makes cyber attacks a particular challenge. In addition to companies, state authorities are also increasingly being targeted by hackers. The number of targeted attacks on strategically relevant targets has also risen in Switzerland. The Swiss government (Federal Council) is therefore now talking about a “threat to national security”. It now wants to counter the threat with a cyber command and the expansion of militia resources in the area of cyber. The course for this has been set: the preliminary legislative process for the revision of the Military Act, the organization of the armed forces and other legal bases has been completed. Now the ball is in Parliament’s court. The planned Cyber Command is to evolve from the current Command Support Base (FUB) of the Swiss Armed Forces. As the army’s IT service provider, the FUB – specifically the Electronic Operations Center – provides secure ICT infrastructures, networks and communication systems and is also responsible for defending against cyber attacks. In future, the command is to take over these tasks and provide key military capabilities in the areas of situational awareness, cyber defense, cryptology, ICT services, command support and electronic warfare. According to the Swiss Ministry of Defense – the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) – the cyber task force will also support operators of critical infrastructure and private companies in defending against cyber attacks, including the financial system, electricity companies, telecommunications firms and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). Until now, the scope of action of the Swiss Armed Forces’ cyber formations has been limited to protecting military communication channels and facilities.
Divisional Commander Alain Vuitel is responsible for setting up the Cyber Command. Vuitel is a member of the army command and reports directly to the Chief of the Armed Forces. In 2002, he was Head of Military Doctrine in the Armed Forces Planning Staff. Ten years later, he was appointed Delegate of the Chief of the Armed Forces for the Armed Forces Reorganization Project (WEA). He was then appointed Chief of the Armed Forces and simultaneously promoted to Brigadier General, and headed the Military Strategy Staff. In 2016, Vuitel took over as Head of the Military Intelligence Service. At the beginning of last year, he became head of the Command Support Base. The command is due to be operational in 2024. Cyber Battalion 42 and a cyber specialist staff will be deployed at the beginning of next year. To this end, the number of military personnel in the cyber area will be increased from the current 206 to 575. There are two ways to become part of the cyber militia: either by completing the cyber training course or via military lateral entry based on professional development. The majority of these will be specialists who are trained on the cyber course. The course has been running since 2018 and is offered twice a year, resulting in 40 cyber specialists per year. By 2028, the Swiss Armed Forces should have 400 trained cyber specialists at its disposal. As part of the training, internships with external partners who have a critical infrastructure will also be made possible. A strategic priority
The largest known cyberattack on a target in Switzerland to date took place in 2016 on the network of the state-owned defense company Ruag, during which 20 gigabytes of data were stolen. The attack went unnoticed for almost a year. It was a wake-up call for the army to take cyber security more seriously. A year later, the Swiss Ministry of Defense was attacked with the Turla Trojan – as in the case of Ruag. The series of cyber attacks continued in 2018 with the attack on the Spiez security laboratory. At the time, samples were being examined there in connection with the poison attack on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal. These events put cyber security much higher on Switzerland’s political agenda. In 2018, the cyber course was launched; just under a year later, Switzerland became a member of the Cyber Defense Center for Cyber Attacks (CCDCOE) in Tallinn, Estonia. In its latest security policy report, the Swiss government declares protection against cyber attacks to be a security policy priority. It states for example: “The threat in cyberspace is a cross-cutting threat. To a certain extent, it creates new threats, but above all it intensifies existing threats.” A particular threat is seen in cyber attacks on services that are essential for the functioning of society, the economy and the state. In this context, energy supply,
telecommunications, healthcare institutions, traffic control and financial transactions are named as potential targets.
Restrictions on information and communication infrastructures abroad could also have direct consequences for Switzerland, the report continues. In addition, cyber attacks should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a plan. In an interview for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung the Chief of the Armed Forces, Corps Commander Thomas Süssli, explained: “Cyber does not come alone, but reinforces an existing intention. Cyber does not replace existing threats, but makes them more dangerous.”
The military is in demand
With the creation of a command, the example of Switzerland shows two interesting developments that are also increasingly recognizable internationally. Firstly, the area of cyber is being significantly upgraded within the Swiss Armed Forces. The command will become an equal unit with the Swiss Air Force and the ground forces, and will from now on form an integral part of military operations on the ground and in the air. Secondly, such a command will give the Swiss Armed Forces great weight in the area of cyber. The United States, which has had a cyber command (US Cyber Command, USCYBERCOM) since 2010, is leading the way in the militarization of cyber defence. China, Israel and Russia are also relying on cyber warriors. One example from the neighborhood is Germany, which established the Cyber and Information Space Command in Bonn in 2017. The networking of the army’s systems in the course of advancing digitalization and the resulting need to effectively protect the infrastructure makes such a shift in competence necessary. In addition, cyber and information resources are an integral part of conflicts or can be used to prepare attacks. “Cyber attacks can be just as devastating as military attacks,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when the military alliance agreed at the 2014 summit in Wales to treat cyber attacks in the same way as conventional attacks. Accordingly, an attack via data networks could trigger collective defense under Article Five of the NATO treaty. The upgrading of the Swiss military’s role in cyber security raises the question of the use of offensive cyber counter-attacks. The cyber strategy published by the Swiss Federal Department of Defense in April for the years 2021 to 2024 does not rule out their use. The circumstances under which such a counterattack would be justified and the extent to which it is compatible with Switzerland’s neutrality still need to be clarified in detail. This question does not yet appear to be an issue in the public debate. However, the issue is likely to become a hot topic of discussion once the Cyber Command is operational.
