Trial begins of intelligence services data theft

An IT specialist has appeared before the Federal Criminal Court for trying to sell data he allegedly stole from the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), thereby endangering Swiss security domestically and abroad as well as FIS employees, their partners and sources. He has been accused of attempted violation of official secrecy and political intelligence. The latter is defined in law as acting illegally in the interest of a foreign state or individual and against the interests of Switzerland. In May 2012, the man stole a hard disk of allegedly “secret, classified and particularly sensitive” data which he then wanted to sell “to foreign parties or organisations” for at least CHF100,000 ($98,800) – something he was ultimately unable to do. He blew his cover when he told a UBS employee in Bern that he wanted to open a numbered bank account because he was expecting up to a million francs from the sale of federal data. The banker notified the authorities, who searched ...