Development and Operation of the Telecommunications Surveillance Processing System and of the Police Information Systems of the Swiss Confederation

On 3 September 2014, the Federal Council defined the development and operation of the telecommunications surveillance processing system and of the police information systems of the Swiss Confederation (referred to as the Telecommunications Surveillance Programme) as a key information and communication technology project and submitted the corresponding message to Parliament. It was recently reviewed by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFOA).

With the envisaged investments in the Telecommunications Surveillance Programme, the Federal Council intends to update the Interception System Switzerland (ISS) processing system of the Post and Telecommunications Surveillance Service (PTSS) and the police information systems of the Swiss Federal Office of Police (fedpol) to stay abreast of the technical developments of recent years and to meet the requirements of future technologies. This is absolutely essential in order for the IT systems to keep pace with the range of services offered by telecommunications service providers. In addition, any potential shortcomings in existing and future telecommunications surveillance systems are to be rectified in order to improve the quality of surveillance.

With the federal decree of 11 March 2015, Parliament approved a total allocation of CHF99 million for this purpose (thereof 71 million for the PTSS). The total investment amounts to CHF112 million (whereby the FDJP will contribute CHF13 million) and is to be phased and spread over several years. The necessary system changes and extensions will be implemented in five independent stages (projects).

Progress and outlook of the Telecommunications Surveillance Programme

For Stage 1 of the Telecommunications Surveillance Programme, the Federal Council has allocated CHF23.4 million: The planned investments of CHF32 million can therefore be used for the procurement of replacement subsystems for the processing system of the PTSS, known as Interception System Schweiz (ISS). Stage 1 started early 2016 with Project 1. In addition, in 2015 the PTSS and fedpol carried out preliminary and initialisation work in two separate projects as well as planning work for Stages 2 to 4.

Stage 2 (Project 2) will involve further development of the processing system that became fully operational on 16 March 2015. The ISS processing system was purchased as a basic system to be constantly updated to embrace the latest technological developments and to meet the increasing load, performance and law enforcement agency requirements.

Key Milestones Achieved to Date

• 28.05.2014: The FDJP submitted to the Federal Council an overview of the investment needed and was instructed to formulate a message.
• 03.09.2014: The Federal Council presented the message concerning the Telecommunications Surveillance Programme to Parliament.
• 11.03.2015: The Parliament approved a total allocation of CHF 99 million.
• 2015: The PTSS and fedpol performed preliminary and initialisation work in two separate projects as well as planning work for Stages 2 to 4.
• Early 2016: Stage 1 of the Telecommunications Surveillance Programme began (Project 1).
• First Quarter 2016: The programme was launched and the first projects were initiated.
• 21.12.2016: The programme sponsor approved the programme report, took note of the results achieved and authorised the continuation of the programme.
• 12.01.2017: The audit report (in German) of the key ICT project telecommunications surveillance project, which was written by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFOA), was released.
• 15.02.2017: The Federal Council approved stage 2 (Project 2).
• 20.12.2017: The Federal Council approved stage 3 (Project 3 and Project 4 "GovWare").
• 04.06.2018: The Parliament approved the changes in stage 4 (P5 is now P2020).
• 10.01.2019: The 2nd audit report (in German) of the key ICT project telecommunications surveillance project written by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFOA) was released.
• 30.01.2019: The Federal Council approved stage 3 (project 4 "E-FMÜ") and stage 4.
• 18.03.2019: Go live of the new components WMC (Warrant Management Component) and IRC (Information Request Component).
• 09.09.2021: The 3rd audit report (in German) of the key ICT project telecommunications surveillance project written by the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFOA) was released.
• 16.12.2022: In December 2022, Parliament approved the 2023 budget, thereby approving the additional posts for the PTSS and 'Operations and Support' in the ISC-FDJP as well as the additional credit of CHF 11.5 million.
• 21.08.2023: With project 5, the PTSS launched the productive pilot of FLICC 1.0, the new modular real-time surveillance system.
• 04.09.2023: With project 4, fedpol KasewareCH has put the new investigation system into operation.