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from the put-all-your-secrets-in-one-basket dept.
'The intelligence coup of the century'
In case of paywall...
CIA Secretly Owned Crypto, the Swiss Company That Ruled Global Spy Comms for Decades, Says Report
For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.
The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades, navigating waves of technology from mechanical gears to electronic circuits and, finally, silicon chips and software.
The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican.
But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA in a highly classified partnership with West German intelligence. These spy agencies rigged the company's devices so they could easily break the codes that countries used to send encrypted messages.
For the most goodest security, use only one commercial crypto system. Trust it with all your secrets.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Mojibake Tengu on Wednesday February 12 2020, @05:23PM (2 children)
Because, some of those well recognized standard algorithms may be, or truly are, not to be trusted, and possible fallback to them may serve as an exploit.
For this very reason, broken algorithms are often removed from standard libraries even in classic methodology.
Frankly, I consider this well recognized standard algorithms a pure dogma, pushed and spinned by intelligence communities mostly.
They understand well when world adopts a massive fragmentation strategy in cryptography, their own game is over.
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 3, Touché) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday February 12 2020, @05:34PM
It's like the difference between guerrilla warfare and standing up your army in a nice green field in pretty rows to be counted.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Bot on Thursday February 13 2020, @12:00AM
I tend to trust parent poster when it comes down to crypto.
>Mojibake Tengu
Look, even the name looks like cyphertext.
Account abandoned.