Onyx (interception system)

Onyx is a Swiss satellite interception system of the Federal Intelligence Service ( FIS ). The plant is operated by the Command Support Brigade 41 of the Swiss Army.

Function and purpose

In the Swiss towns Leuk and Heimenschwand are parabolic antennas, which listen to the satellite radio traffic and collect it. The captured vast amounts of data radio emissions, e- mails, telephone calls, fax transmissions are automatically filtered out mostly with targeted keywords to relevant data for their clients. Additional filter criteria can be achieved with mainframe computers, due Artificial Intelligence, optical character recognition or voice test. The results are then forwarded to the central office in Room Forest. Around 40 employees post there from the knowledge gained secret reports which are forwarded to the Department of Defence in Bern. The system is primarily intended to combat terrorism.

History and client

Early 1990, the Federal Council launched a military secret program named " Sato ". In the first two stages of the program, a system was developed, which could intercept communications by radio, shortwave and fax signals. The third stage finally enabled the complete electronic reconnaissance satellite links.

• 2000: First start-up
• 2001: Operational test operation
• 2004: Operational mode

Secrecy and control

The decisions to Onyx system fell face down and without logging. Similarly, the funding was through loan tranches and undermining the Federal Audit Office ( EFK ) to legally not regulated, critics say illegal, way. The monitoring center in Room Forest was allowed to build under the pretext of a multi-purpose hall. According view to the council Roulier André, who had scored a landscape photo of Rooms woods for a postcard, have been made by the federal government, the provision herauszuretuschieren the plant.

A control of the collected data and its use should be ensured by the Independent Supervisory Authority ( UKI ). The exact task of the supervisory authority is defined by section 6, Article 15 of the Regulation on electronic warfare ( VEKF ).

Detection and CIA affair

Towards the end of 2000 Onyx was revealed piece by piece. The Defense Department won the Big Brother Awards Switzerland in 2000 and 2001.

A more extensive report written by the journalist Urs Paul Engeler for the world week in October 2005.

With the publication of an intercepted by Onyx fax in Sunday's view on 8 January 2006, which was the newspaper leaked by an unknown source, allegedly from the area of the Federal Palace, the interception system of the Swiss population was suddenly and deliberately known. In the fax, which came from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, earlier reports from other sources on CIA secret prisons in Eastern Europe for terrorism suspects ( BlackSite ) were confirmed for the first time and also called nationalities of the prisoners. The fax was the Onyx clients and even some ( not all) since November 2005 without them took something and the United States at least calling on federal councils to submit comments.

Criticism

After uncovering the Onyx plant some voices of criticism have been raised particularly in Germany. Some reasons for this:

• After a revision of the law of the Swiss government to the police authorities of the Federation will now be granted after a test operation (2001-2007) definitive and complete access. Thus purely domestic communications could be officially monitored. However, the revision has yet to be approved by parliament, however, where it is highly controversial. Especially after the beginning of the 1990 Fichenskandal there is still fear in the Swiss population to its privacy and data protection.
• There are rumors that say that the Onyx system was connected to the American Echelon system and could therefore provide valuable secret data from the U.S. government. However, this is denied by the Swiss government.
• According to unofficial figures from the Federal Council in 1997, an amount of 50 million Swiss francs had been approved for construction. According to Councillor Helen Leumann, the cost would have been tripled by mid-2003. Other experts even expect a sum of 400 million francs. Similarly, it is estimated by experts that amount the cost of maintenance to 10 to 30 million francs.
• To interception no court order must be, they can be performed given suspicion.