Swiss expert says country lacks clear picture of drone threats

Switzerland has no clear national picture of the threat posed by drones, security expert Ivo Capaul told SRF, warning that authorities are partly “flying blind” because sightings are not recorded centrally.

Capaul, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies, a security research centre at ETH Zurich, said the country had lost some awareness of the current threat and needed to take the issue seriously. The army records incidents, but their causes are not always clear.

According to the army, about 80 percent of reported cases involve mistaken identifications or harmless hobby drones. The remaining 20 percent could involve a state-led hybrid attack, Capaul said.

Distinguishing a harmless drone from a hostile one can be difficult. Commercial drones are generally registered and can be identified by sensors, but an attacker could build a drone from off-the-shelf parts or manipulate its controls. Identifying such a device may require sophisticated radar sensors.

Capaul called for sensors to be installed at critical infrastructure and for its operators to be required to report drone sightings, as they do cyberattacks. That would help create a national picture of the situation, even when it is not possible to establish whether a state actor was responsible.

State-backed drone flights could serve purposes beyond sabotage, he said, including espionage, testing a facility’s security measures, undermining confidence in security authorities or unsettling the public.

He said complete protection was impossible and that Switzerland should prioritise the locations facing the greatest threat. Measures could include physical protection, such as nets to guard against espionage or sabotage, as well as plans to restore normal operations quickly after an attack.