MELANI has been in operation since 1 October 2004 and functions as a cooperation model between the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), represented by the Federal IT Steering Unit (FITSU), and the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), represented by the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS).
Customer groups
MELANI serves two customer groups in the process:
Open Customer Base
This includes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as home computer users.
In order to protect them, MELANI offers:
- Information on threats and measures when dealing with modern information and communication technologies (e.g. the internet, e-banking)
- Reports explaining the most important trends and developments relating to ICT incidents and events (e.g. fact sheets and semi-annual reports)
- A reporting form for reporting incidents
Closed Customer Base
This includes selected operators of national critical infrastructures in Switzerland (e.g. energy suppliers, telecommunications companies, banks, etc.). Here, MELANI is tasked with protecting these critical infrastructures, especially where they depend on information and communication infrastructures functioning. MELANI also provides crisis support here.
The aim is to ensure that network and system disruptions, as well as abuses, are rare, short and manageable, and cause minimum damage.