On 2 December 2022, the Federal Council decided to transfer the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is currently part of the General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), to the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), creating a new federal office. The NCSC will be strengthened thanks to synergies with existing cyber security capabilities at the DDPS.

Continuity for the new federal office

Now the Federal Council has appointed Florian Schütz, the current Federal Delegate for Cyber Security, as director of the new federal office as of 1 January 2024.

Florian Schütz, who is 41, studied at ETH Zurich and graduated with an MSc in Computer Science in 2007. During his studies, he gained initial professional experience as a software developer and risk analyst at Siemens Schweiz AG and as an information security laboratory technician at ETH Zurich. Between 2008 and November 2016, he worked at RUAG Schweiz AG as an IT security architect and business consultant, as head of cyber security, and as a business developer for cyber & intelligence in Israel. During that time, he also completed a Master of Advanced Studies in Security Policy and Crisis Management. From December 2016 to July 2019, he was head of IT Risk & Security at Zalando SE Germany. He assumed his role as Federal Cyber Security Delegate in August 2019.

In view of his qualifications and his many years of experience in IT security in the private sector and as the Federal Cyber Security Delegate, Florian Schütz is the ideal candidate for the position.

In his role as director, Florian Schütz will have the opportunity to shape and develop the new federal office within the DDPS. The next step, this summer, will be for the DDPS to submit amendments to the ordinance regulating the NCSC’s transition to a federal office within the DDPS to the Federal Council.

Florian Schütz appointed director of the new Federal Office for Cyber Security