United States, German spying on allies

This 2013 video says about itself:

This is the first authoritative account of the postwar relationship between General Reinhard Gehlen, a figure unique in the history of espionage, and American intelligence. Eleven years after the defeat of Germany, Gehlen, Hitler‘s chief of eastern front intelligence, became head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) for the democratic West German government of Konrad Adenauer. The core of his staff in the BND were the same officers who had served with him under Hitler. The instruments for this metamorphosis were agencies of Gehlen’s former enemy: U.S. Army Intelligence and the CIA. How did this happen and why? Was there a Nazi connection? This book answers these questions in detail, combining the elements of a gripping novel of espionage with solid scholarship based on U.S. government documents and interviews with former G-2, CIC and CIA officers.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

For decades the US American and <a href="https://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2019/12/25/german-ex-secret-service-boss-preaches-racism/”>German intelligence services have intercepted other countries, including allies. In this ‘Operation Rubicon’, described in documents as “the intelligence coup of the century”, they deliberately used poorly protected equipment with which encrypted messages were sent.

When Germany stopped, the Americans received help from the Netherlands, according to secret reports in the hands of The Washington Post, German public broadcaster ZDF and Dutch VPRO radio research program Argos. The reports of intelligence services CIA and BND state that US American and German services have read about major world events. …

Poorly protected devices

The operation began in 1970 with the acquisition of the Swiss company Crypto AG. A construction concealed the fact that the intelligence services became the owners. The company supplied allies with secure, unbreakable devices that sent encrypted messages between countries. Other countries received a copy that looked the same but had a toned-down algorithm.

At least 62 countries worldwide used the equipment. Countries like the Soviet Union and China never bought anything from Crypto AG because they did not trust the company. However, the US and Germany were able to tap secret information from Moscow and Beijing through eavesdropping on communication of other countries.

Dutch role

In 1994, Germany withdrew from Rubicon because the intelligence service thought the risk of exposure was too great. That also had to do with the Americans’ plan to spy on NATO ally Turkey. When Germany refused to help, the Netherlands stepped in. The BVD, precursor of the AIVD, and Philips came to the rescue, allowing the Americans to read along with the Turks.

When Germany decided to stop, the US bought the rest of the shares in the company. The Americans continued their espionage practices through the Crypto AG equipment until 2018, but the company then played only a limited role in the encryption market. Today only a dozen countries use such a Crypto device.

See also here.

CIA controlled global encryption company for decades, says report. Swiss government orders inquiry after revelations Crypto AG was owned and operated by US and German intelligence: here.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA) have been spying on the encrypted communications of governments all over the world for the past five decades through the CIA’s secret ownership of a global security firm based in Switzerland: here.

The role of Philips: here.

At the beginning of February, the Washington Post and the German broadcaster ZDF reported on an espionage operation of enormous dimensions: Under the code names “Rubicon” and “Minerva”, Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) together with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had monitored the encrypted government communications of almost half the countries on earth for decades: here.