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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday February 12 2020, @11:03AM   Printer-friendly
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.


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday February 12 2020, @09:56PM (1 child)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday February 12 2020, @09:56PM (#957421)

    If you protect the bad guys, you can't be the good guys.

    Sadly, wetware does not operate in true binary - there are far more than 50 shades of grey, no pure black, no pure white.

    You mostly have to go with the best choice available, unless you have the power to lighten things up yourself.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Thursday February 13 2020, @11:14PM

    by jmichaelhudsondotnet (8122) on Thursday February 13 2020, @11:14PM (#957910) Journal

    "We won't be your babies anymore, we won't be your babies, anymore, we won't be your babies..."

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