Russia poses the biggest espionage threat in Switzerland
KEYSTONE
In addition to cyber espionage, a significant proportion of information gathering in Switzerland is carried out using human sources, claims Swiss intelligence.
“The greatest current threat from espionage comes from Russian intelligence services,” Federal Intelligence Services (FIS) spokeswoman Sonja Margelist told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper.
Following the wiretapping affair in Germany and media reports of increased espionage activities by Russia in Europe, the FIS is reacting and stepping up its warnings. In addition to online espionage, a significant proportion of information gathering in Switzerland is carried out using human sources, the spokeswoman added.
“The Russian diplomatic representations in particular are used for these activities,” said Margelist. Although the number of Russian diplomats accredited to Switzerland has remained stable since the start of the war in Ukraine – 218 according to the foreign ministry – the FIS situation report estimates that at least a third of these employees are working for the Russian intelligence services.
According to the Financial Times, covert Russian agents are now mainly operating from the neutral countries of Switzerland and Austria. Almost a third of Russia’s European missions are now controlled from Geneva and Vienna.
Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat, confirms this: “Geneva is one of the most important hubs for Russian secret services,” he told SonntagsZeitung . He added that many spies are sent to Switzerland.
Adapted from German by DeepL/ac
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Culture
Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage
Swisscom receives greenlight for acquisition of Vodafone Italia
This content was published on
The takeover of Vodafone Italia by Swisscom is nearing completion. All relevant authorities have now approved the €8 billion (CHF7.45 billion) deal.
Novo Nordisk stock market plunge drags down Swiss device maker Ypsomed
This content was published on
The Danish pharmaceutical giant, Novo Nordisk, faced setbacks on Friday that weighed on the share price of Swiss injection device manufacturer Ypsomed.
Swiss press react to EU deal with mix of euphoria and scepticism
This content was published on
Swiss media reaction to the agreement between Switzerland and the EU varies widely. Some are celebrating, while others worry about what is to come.
Swiss Solidarity donations to tackle child abuse top CHF4 million
This content was published on
Swiss Solidarity, the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), has raised over CHF4 million ($4.3 million) to tackle child abuse.
EU Commission president says Swiss-EU deal is ‘historic’ agreement
This content was published on
At a joint media conference with Swiss President Viola Amherd in Bern, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a "day of joy".
Switzerland and EU reach deal on future bilateral relations
This content was published on
Switzerland and the European Union have announced a political agreement to update their trading relationship after almost a decade of difficult talks.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.