Swedish Security Service’s activities
(RiR 2024:24)
Summary
The Swedish National Audit Office has examined the Swedish Security Service’s security intelligence activities (work on counter-espionage, counter-terrorism and counter-subversion), work on security protection and management of the agency.
The Swedish Security Service is an agency that plays an important role in protecting Sweden, our democracy and our fundamental rights and freedoms. As a result of the recent gravely deteriorating international situation and a raised terrorist threat level in and against Sweden, the Swedish Security Service’s task of safeguarding Sweden’s security is particularly important. Moreover, the Swedish National Audit Office has never previously audited the Swedish Security Service’s activities from an efficiency perspective, apart from very limited parts on several occasions, when they had a bearing on other government agencies under audit.
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Since the Swedish Security Service separated from the then National Police Board and became an independent agency in 2015, it has expanded in terms of both money and manpower. Appropriations have increased by 114% over the same period.
The overall assessment of the Swedish National Audit Office is that there are several inefficiencies in the Swedish Security Service’s activities. However, the Swedish National Audit Office considers that it is possible to address these inefficiencies.
There are ambiguities in the Swedish Security Service’s internal management and control. In addition, the conditions for conducting activities effectively are, in part, inadequate due to legislative obstacles and a shortage of resources.
The audit also shows that there is potential for achieving efficiency gains. There are a number of initiatives underway designed to develop the activities, for example within internal training. There are also examples of development initiatives completed with successful outcomes, such as streamlining records checking to considerably reduce previously long processing times.
Recommendations
With a view to strengthening the effectiveness of the Swedish Security Service’s activities, the Swedish National Audit Office makes the following recommendations.
To the Government
- Exercise more active governance of the Swedish Security Service by requesting more information on how activities are progressing.
To the Swedish Security Service
- Communicate intelligence products to the Government Offices to a greater extent.
- Focus supervision of security protection more on the security protection measures of physical protection, information security and personnel security, carry out supervision in more cases and provide more support in individual cases to operators.
- Always promptly communicate reported security threats to the relevant supervisory authority of the operator where the event took place.
- Amend the Swedish Security Service’s regulations on security protection as follows:
- operators must submit their basic vetting to the Swedish Security Service concerning those with whom the agency will hold an individual interview;
- operators must submit decisions to adopt or update a security protection analysis or security protection plan to their supervisory authority and to the Swedish Security Service if the supervisory authority is other than the Swedish Security Service;
- operators’ security protection organisation must be described in their security protection analysis.
- Establish a clear procedure for special background investigations, including individual interviews ahead of receiving security clearance.
- Clarify and give effect to internal management and the processes for open information gathering and processing.
- Increase staffing at regional sections to meet the needs and provide the sections with greater powers in cooperation with other authorities at the regional level.