The Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) has opened investigation proceedings against the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) and the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) concerning potentially serious violations of data protection regulations.

On 13 April 2023, the FDPIC opened a preliminary inquiry into questions raised by the Aargauer Zeitung on 11 April concerning the legality of access by FOCBS employees to the national search database RIPOL, which is operated by fedpol. During the preliminary inquiry, both federal offices submitted written statements regarding the facts of the case.

In early June, the two federal offices informed the FDPIC, first verbally and later in writing via the FDPIC’s data breach reporting platform, that there had been breaches of data security with potentially high risks for those affected. The breaches had resulted from outsourcing work to the software company Xplain AG.

After evaluating the statements of the two federal offices and questioning Xplain AG about the reported data security breaches, the FDPIC concluded its preliminary inquiry. On 20 June, it opened a formal investigation into potentially serious breaches of the data protection regulations.
As the investigation is ongoing, no further information can be provided at present.

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