The Federal Council opens an investigation into a secret service case. The CIA and the German Intelligence Service (BND) have intercepted thousands of documents from over 100 countries through the company Crypto for decades.
The two foreign intelligence agencies bought the Zugoise company Crypto in equal parts in 1970, through a foundation in Liechtenstein. But the collaboration between the three parties already existed before.
Crypto is the leader in machines that encrypt secret communications. Thanks to rigged encryption devices, the CIA and the BND listened to the conversations of several foreign states.
The BND left the operation in 1993. But the United States has extended wiretaps until at least 2018, according to joint research by the SRF Rundschau, ZDF and Washington Post programs.
Investigation
The Federal Council commissioned an inquiry on January 15. Federal Department of Defense (DDPS) spokesperson Renato Kalbermatten confirmed this to Keystone-ATS on Tuesday. The investigation was entrusted to former federal judge Niklaus Oberholzer. The latter will have to report to the department by the end of June.
Confederation Intelligence (CRS) reported rumors surrounding Crypto in August to Defense Minister Viola Amherd. More information was presented to him on October 31. The DDPS then informed the Federal Council on November 5 of the situation. Supervisors were informed on November 12 by the SRC.
The events began in 1945. Today they are difficult to reconstruct, estimates the DDPS. This is why the government has decided to look into the matter. Rundschau’s research prompted the Federal Department of Economics (DEFR) to suspend export authorization for Crypto, department spokesperson Evelyn Kobelt confirmed.
Rubicon operation
About 280 pages of Secret Service files expose “Operation Rubicon” as one of the most successful in the post-war era. “This operation has certainly contributed to a safer world,” said former German secret service coordinator Bernd Schmidbauer in an SRF video.
Crypto operated from Switzerland. Its neutrality was an important selling point after the Second World War and during the Middle East conflict.
Among other things, the company has supplied decryption devices to Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Iran. Because it had ears in these countries, the United States benefited from it during negotiations or for its military strategy. The aircraft played a vital role in the negotiations over the American hostages in Iran in 1981 or the invasion of Panama in 1989.
According to Rundschau, the Swiss secret services were aware of the operation carried out by the CIA and the BND.
Accused since 2000
The Zagreb company had already been accused in 2000 of having manipulated its encryption devices to help the United States spy. A study, commissioned by the European Parliament, focused on a telecommunications spy network in Europe launched in 1948 by the United States and the United Kingdom.
She explained in particular that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) undermined the effectiveness of European encryption systems, and this since the 1940s. The NSA would have arranged to manipulate the encryption systems sold by Crypto SA, with the help of the owner and founder of the Zugoise company, Boris Hagelin.
When questioned at the time, the Zug society had vigorously rejected all of the charges contained in the report.
The company was split in 2018 into two entities, one Swiss and the other international. The chairman of the board of the Swiss side says in the Rundschau report that there is no connection with the CIA or the BND. The same goes for Crypto International, owned by a Swede.
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