The Swiss army had been in the 80s over information indicating that a double-game of the company, Crypto AG, with the secret services. According to a not yet publicly become a court document. According to this, the then chief cryptographer of the military Department (EMD), the late Paul Glur, had expressed serious concerns against the devices of the Zug-based company Crypto. The mathematician was then in charge of the section of cryptology and cryptographic beings in the Federal office for the transmission of troops and was involved in the “project SVZ-B”, the procurement of a digital cryptographic device for the army.
The equipment for voice encryption, let the EMD after a lengthy evaluation process from 1983, when the Crypto produce. She was until 2002, when the troops in use. Since mid-February of this year, 38 years after the procurement decision, is documented: In the case of the delivery company moved the secret services of the USA, the CIA, and Germany, the BND, the threads. Thus, it was possible for the intelligence services to control confidential communication channels from over a hundred countries.
Suddenly to Bern
Great doubts as to the real Mission of the company is quoted must have been in the military but even then: In the sale talks, which lasted from 1977 to 1983, have torn the chief cryptographer for the company representatives the mask from the face, says former Crypto employees Jürg Spörndli today.
According to other documents, which are stored in the Federal archives, the military, in principle, very impressed by the Crypto-device CVX-396. In the apparatus intelligibility, weight, and language development agreed maturity. A classified as confidential testing report of the Federal office for the transmission of forces from may, 1979, the Crypto was made in the evaluation process, the competitors, Siemens-Albis and Gretag, a company of Ciba-Geigy Corporation, in the shadows. The Crypto-unit was considered to be the “optimum solution” – however, “without taking into account the results of cryptographic assessment”.
The chief cryptographer of the Federal government have signaled maliziös and profound: “We know what you’re doing, we know from the double game”.
Just in the case of this Review, the ice cream for the Zuger was a secret service company thin: After the Swiss army had decided, in principle, for the Crypto-device, had been quoted by the project managers of the Crypto surprising to Bern. The cryptographers had discovered serious flaws in the encryption. Crypto would restore “in any relationship is actually very good encryption devices, except that this “would not cipher particularly well”” was granted to the company representatives, according to the court document at that time.
At the meeting with Glur in Bern can remember the now 70-year-old former Crypto employees Spörndli in detail. The chief cryptographer of the Federal government had signalled at one of the larger round, very maliziös and profound: “We know what you’re doing, we know from the double game”. “I was terrified,” says Spörndli, looking back. It is a similar story at the same time, two employees of the Crypto, which had been cited by the former Yugoslav army leadership to Belgrade. You have not been notified, according to the court document, and that the military of the block-free Lands held by the company-supplied encryption material for sure.
In Switzerland, suggested that the poor material procurement group responsible for the defense services then that Crypto should provide the device, a other company, but the sensitive key generator. So far it’s not came. “We got the Chance to make a better suggestion for the algorithm to be submitted,” recalls Spörndli. Finally, the Crypto of the army delivered 6900 copies of which are classified as secure encryption device.
On the bottom of the cryptographer of the Federal government had come to the Zug-based company because of a glitch. To test purposes have been sent according to the Spörndli, instead of the proper devices, those that were destined for Export, according to Bern. In the export apparatus, key generators were installed, which according to the allowed instructions of the CIA and the BND intelligence services to Read. These sampling devices had been examined at the Federal office for the transmission of troops, what you’ve communicated to the Zug-based company, “that the Swiss authorities could not buy such devices, and they are build according to the own specifications of the Federal government to”.
file from process
The operations to the procurement of the digital encryption device SVZ-B are documented in the files of the Zurich district court in the year 1994 under suspicion of espionage in Iran for imprisoned Crypto-representative, Hans Buehler was by his former employer dragged before the court. The Zug-based company wanted him to prohibit the assertion, you have for many years operated a news service.
In a 40-page lawsuit response listed Bühler’s lawyers in 1994, many of the Crypto-employees made observations and statements. They would have had to demonstrate to the judges an intelligence Background of the company. More than 25 witnesses, in addition to current and former Crypto employees, even high-ranking military, were loaded. To the process, would have revealed even then, the Zug, Crypto intelligence services had one breakdown, it never came. Behind the Scenes of Bühler and Crypto signed a standstill agreement, which had for decades inventory.
Created: 02.03.2020, 06:30 PM
