All the data recovered and police stopped sale to third parties
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) was the victim in early summer 2012 of a data theft by one of its staff, the federal Department of Justice and Police says. The thief was caught early, charges were immediately filed with the federal public prosecutor and virtually all of the data stolen has been recovered.
The FIS, as a result, has introduced tighter security measures.
Swiss data protection and privacy laws prevent the police from sharing any other details, the department says.
The news comes just two days after the Tinner family trio from St Gallen were charged and sentenced for breaching Swiss war materials laws in a case dating back more than a decade
The FIS was created from two previous agencies at the start of 2010. Outside the country it works with more than 100 other national intelligence and security agencies.
Inside Switzerland it is responsible for national security, working closely with police, the military and a number of other federal and cantonal departments. Its internal security mandate covers “terrorism and violent extremism, proliferation, attacks on critical IT infrastructure and illegal intelligence”, the department says on its web site.
Outside Switzerland, the FIS is responsible for “proliferation, terrorism, armed forces development, areas of operations of the armed forces abroad as well as arms technology and arms trade.”
