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https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinde ... overnments

CIA Secretly Owned Global Encryption Provider, Built Backdoors, Spied On 100+ Foreign Governments: Report
Davey WinderSenior Contributor
Co-founder, Straight Talking Cyber
Follow
Feb 12, 2020

More than 100 countries across the globe relied for decades upon encryption equipment from a Swiss provider, Crypto AG, to keep their top-secret communications, well, top-secret. For decades, it is alleged, U.S. intelligence agencies were able to read those encrypted communications.

The Swiss company that global governments trusted with their most sensitive of conversations for more than fifty years was actually owned by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in partnership with the West German BND intelligence service, according to an investigation based on CIA documents obtained by the reporters.

Operation Rubicon, as it became known, was both brazen in nature and breathtaking in scope. Foreign governments paid top dollar for the equipment that was being used to spy upon them by both the U.S. and West Germany, and potentially other nation-states that were part of what is known as the Five Eyes alliance: the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Operation Rubicon: How the CIA ‘owned’ encryption
The Washington Post has got access to internal CIA accounts of the intelligence operation known as Rubicon, and the revelations confirm what has been rumored for many years. Namely that the CIA and BND partnership added backdoors into the Crypto AG encryption products and used these for intelligence gathering purposes across the years. Intelligence gathering, it would appear, from both adversaries and allies. According to the CIA report quoted by the Washington Post, Rubicon was the "intelligence coup of the century."

The idea of a nation-state being able to introduce vulnerabilities into communications equipment that enable eavesdropping into sensitive and supposedly highly encrypted conversations may sound familiar. It's at the heart of the U.S. Government argument to prevent telecoms equipment made by Huawei from being used. Indeed, the revelation that the U.S. apparently has "evidence" of a Huawei capability to do just this is currently being widely reported and continues to stoke the flames of fear. Fear, one must suggest, that could be based upon a been there, done that, had been hiding the t-shirt mentality of U.S. intelligence agencies.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinde ... ial-guide/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman ... mplicated/

The most detailed evidence of Operation Rubicon so far

The idea of backdoors in Crypto AG ciphering machines has surfaced repeatedly over the decades, the earliest reporting I could find being that of Scott Shane and Tom Browne in the Baltimore Sun back in 1995. However, until now, these reports were based upon hearsay. The Washington Post investigation puts the meat back onto the bone with the most detailed CIA history of events to date using leaked "secret" documents.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/ ... ors_i.html

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xp ... story.html

That history suggests that the company was secretly purchased by the CIA and BND in 1970, with the BND selling its share to the U.S. sometime in the early 1990s. The Washington Post investigation concludes that the CIA might have been able to exploit Crypt AG backdoors until as recently as 2018 when the company was eventually sold to private buyers.

In the meantime, more than 100 governments around the world, possibly as many as 120, purchased and employed the backdoored equipment. China and the Soviet Union, as it was then, weren't amongst the buyers. However, Egypt was, and this apparently enabled the U.S. to monitor communications between Anwar Sadat and Cairo during the Egypt-Israel peace accord meeting at Camp David in 1978. So was Iran, and this was exploited by the U.S. during the 1979 hostage crisis, for example. The U.K. benefited from U.S. intelligence garnered from Argentinian communications during the Falklands War, the report reveals. Other countries that were customers of the company included India, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Vatican.

The Washington Post reports that neither of the companies which purchased the "dismembered" Crypto AG assets in 2018 has any "ongoing connection to any intelligence service."

The Swiss government has started an investigation into the reports, having first been made aware of the revelations in November 2019.

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/intelligen ... -/45552020

The military intelligence expert view
"The intelligence services from any country using legitimate companies as a front is a tactic that has been used for many many years," Philip Ingram, a former Colonel in British Military Intelligence, says, "international cooperation on a bilateral basis again is nothing new what is interesting is this is Germany and the U.S. at a time when it was the U.S. and the U.S. leading cryptology." While in the early days of encryption it was under the control of governments and subject to the same export restrictions as weapons, in 1977, the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulation Code was used to raise concerns about the publication and distribution of crypto research. "As the government-led and owned crypto monopoly become more and more fragile with the development of commercial cryptography the intelligence agencies will have done everything they can to try and maintain the edge," Ingram says, "losing visibility, even for a short period of time, is an agencies worst nightmare."

Ian Thornton-Trump, CISO at Cyjax and a former member of the Canadian Forces Military Intelligence Branch, says that the revelation is "completely in line with the American intelligence community desire for encryption backdoors dating back to World War Two." While arguing that you could spend "zillions of dollars" to break crypto like the allies' efforts back then with Enigma, Thornton-Trump says, "it’s so much easier and orders of magnitude less expensive to 'pre-break' encryption at the supply chain level." The problems start when trying to act upon that intelligence. "When you have good intelligence on something really bad about to happen, even though you could counter it, you can’t as it may reveal the covert access you have established," he says. Historically, Thornton-Trump says, covert access like this has to be used in a very limited capacity. "Knowing all the things," he concludes, "does not mean you can act on all the things."

other possible information about CIA companies

https://diaferiaforcongress.wordpress.c ... nizations/

HERE IS A LIST OF CIA PROPRIETARY, CIA INFILTRATED OR INFLUENCED ORGANIZATIONS, AND CIA
CONTRACTORS:


(+ denotes added in most recent update, – denotes earlier entry)

The sources from which these data were obtained are listed with each company


– Actus Technology: Victor Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and The
Cult of Intelligence
– Aero Associates (illegal CIA foreign weapon sales): Victor
Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and The Cult of Intelligence
– AFF News (publication of AFF): AFF materials — see also ICEP
– AID (Agency for International Development — shared facilities with
NIA): Victor Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and The Cult of
Intelligence
– Air America: Victor Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and The Cult of
Intelligence
– Air Asia: Victor Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and The Cult of
Intelligence
– All Saints Lutheran Church (Bowie, Maryland — CAN and FMSF ties):
ICEP materials
– Allen Memorial Institute (Montreal — mind control projects)
– American Committee for Liberation (of Cuba): Victor Marchetti/John D.
Marks, The CIA and The Cult of Intelligence
– American Committee on a United Europe: Jim Hougan, Spooks
– American Council of Churches (established by Howard Hunt): Torbitt
document, Internet
– American Enterprise Institute (CIA propoganda factory used by FMSF)
– American Family Foundation: Daniel Brandt, Namebase Newsline
– American Institute of Hypnosis (Dr. Wm. Bryan, MK-ULTRA, believed
programmer of Sirhan Sirhan): Alex Constantine, Psychic Dictatorship in
the U.S.A.
+ The American Institutes of Research: Alex Constantine, Mind Contol
Operations at Stanford Research Institutute
– American Psychiatric Association (headed by CIA mind control
experimenter, Dr. Ewen Cameron): Alex Constantine, Psychic Dictatorship
in the U.S.A.
– Americares: Jack Colhoun, The Family That Preys Together, Covert
Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family financial ties to
intelligence community and crime figures)
– Anderson Security Associates (Virginia): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– API Distributors, Inc. (A Houston firm involving famous spooks
Richard Secord, Thomas Clines, Ted Shackley): Johathan Kwitny, The
Crimes Of Patriots; David Corn, The Blond Ghost
– Appilachian State University (CAN and FMSF ties): ICEP materials
– Arbusto Energy, Inc.: Jack Colhoun, The Family That Preys Together,
Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family financial ties to
intelligence community and crime figures)
– Armairco (Oliver North Iran-Contra): John Prados, President’s Secret
Wars
– Arnim Proprietary, Ltd.: Johathan Kwitny, The Crimes Of Patriots
– Arthur D. Little (hires retired spooks in quantity): Jim Hougan,
Spooks
– Asia Foundation: Jonathan Kwitney, The Crimes of Patriots
– Asset Management International Financing & Settlement Ltd.: Jack
Colhoun, The Family That Preys Together, Covert Action Quarterly
(Exposes George Bush family financial ties to intelligence community
and crime figures)
– Association of College Unions-International (ACU-I — CAN and FMSF
ties): ICEP materials
– Association of fmr. Intelligence Officers (AFIO — as the name
implies): Mark Lane, Plausible Denial, Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Audio Intelligence Devices, Inc. (Ft. Lauderdale — associated with
NIA): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Austin Society to Oppose Pseudoscience (ASTOP — CAN and FMSF ties):
ICEP materials
– Australian Association for Cultural Freedom: Jonathan Kwitney, The
Crimes of Patriots
– B.R. Fox Laboratories (B.R. Fox Company):, Jim Hougan, Spooks
– BAC International Credit Corp. (Contra Resupply/Money Laundering):
John Semien, Congress Investigating Barry Seal’s Activities, Baton
Rouge Sunday Advocate
– Bagwhan Shree Rajneesh Movement (El Salvadore CIA ops ties and
MK-ULTRA spin off)
– Bahamas Commonwealth Bank (Vesco/IOS company): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI): Jack Colhoun, The
Family That Preys Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George
Bush family financial ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Bass Enterprises Production Company : Jack Colhoun, The Family That
Preys Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family
financial ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Battelle Memorial Institute and other Battelle operations (hires
retired spooks in quantity): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Beth Israel Hospital (FMSF involvement): FMSF materials
– Biblical and Tehological Studies, Gordon College (Wenhans, Ma. CAN
and FMSF ties): ICEP materials
– Bird Air (the famous William (Wally) Bird): Johathan Kwitny, The
Crimes Of Patriots
– Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and Wong (Hawaii local family
names of good reput usurped for financial swindles and other CIA
benefit): Johathan Kwitny, The Crimes Of Patriots
– Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc. (Intel Contractor): John Pike, American
Federation of Scientists
– Boston City Hospital (mind control related): Alex Constantine,
Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A.
– Boston Psychopathic Hospital: John Marks, MK-ULTRA Behavior Control
Experiments Document Collection
– Boston University, Marsh Chapel (CAN and FMSF ties): ICEP materials
– Bothell Washington Schools (high-school counseling CAN and FMSF
ties): ICEP materials
– Broward Federal Savings and Loan: Jack Colhoun, The Family That Preys
Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family financial
ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Bruce Campbell and Company: Johathan Kwitny, The Crimes Of Patriots
– Bureau of Applied Social Research (Intel funded PSYOPS projects):
Christopher Simpson, Science of Coercion
– CAN (Cult Awareness Network — MK Ultra offspring infiltrates l
itimate church groups, involved in shaping early religious paths of
Reverend Tim Jones of Jonestown Massacre and David Koresh of Waco)
– Canadian Psychiatric Association (headed by CIA mind control
experimenter, Dr. Ewen Cameron): Alex Constantine, Psychic Dictatorship
in the U.S.A.
– Caramar (Caribbean Marine Aero Corp.): Victor Marchetti/John D.
Marks, The CIA and The Cult of Intelligence
– Carnegie Foundation (CIA project funding): Daniel Brandt, Namebase
Newsline
– Carnegie Mellon University (Social/Decision Sciences dept. — FMSF
involvement): FMSF materials
– Castle Bank and Trust (ties to both Robert Vesco and his junior in
CIA financial swindles, Nugan Hand): Johathan Kwitny, The Crimes Of
Patriots
– Castle Bank and Trust Ltd.: Jack Colhoun, The Family That Preys
Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family financial
ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– CBS (collusion with CIA to destroy Jim Garrison, access to CIA vote
fixing information, pattern of CIA friendly newscasting and coverups):
??? Votescam; Interview with Jim Garrison, Playboy, others
– Center for International Studies at MIT (Intel funded PSYOPS
projects): Christopher Simpson, Science of Coercion
– Center for Sexuality and Religion (FMSF ties)
– Central Agency for Jewish Education (Miami high-school counseling CAN
and FMSF ties): ICEP materials
– Central America Freedom Program: Jack Colhoun, The Family That Preys
Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family financial
ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Central Investigative Agency: Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Century Special (controled by ICC): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Chalk’s International Airlines (Vesco/IOS company): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Charing Cross Hospital (Psychiatry dept. — FMSF involvement): FMSF
materials
– Cherry Creek National Bank: Jack Colhoun, The Family That Preys
Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family financial
ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Church League of America (shares intelligence dossiers on Americans
with CIA proprietaries): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Citizens Freedom Foundation (predecessor to Cult Awareness Network):
Daniel Brandt, Namebase Newsline
– City University of New York, Graduate School (CAN and FMSF ties):
ICEP materials
– Civil Air Transport: Victor Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and The
Cult of Intelligence
– Civilian Irregular Defense Group(s): John Prados, President’s Secret
Wars
– Civilian Military Assistance (Oliver North Iran-Contra): John Prados,
President’s Secret Wars
– CMI Investments (evolved into Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham and
Wong): Johathan Kwitny, The Crimes Of Patriots
– Cocke and Phillips International (Nugan Hand’s direct link to Intel
in Washington D.C.): Johathan Kwitny, The Crimes Of Patriots
– College of Foreign Affairs, Universitiy of Indidana
– Colleyville Texas Schools (high-school counseling CAN and FMSF ties):
ICEP materials
– Colorado State University (CAN and FMSF ties): ICEP materials
– Columbia University (high-school counseling CAN and FMSF ties): ICEP
materials
– Commission on Cults and Missionaries, Jewish Federation Council of
Greater Los Angeles (CAN and FMSF ties): ICEP materials
– Committee for Scientific Examinatin of Religion
– Committee for Scientific Examination of Claims of the Paranormal
– Committee for the Defense of National Interests: John Prados,
President’s Secret Wars
– Committee of One Million Against the Admission of Communist China to
the United Nations: John Prados, President’s Secret Wars
– Comptrol International (Vesco/CIA/arms smuggler partners): Jim
Hougan, Spooks
– Concordia University (Quebec — Psychology dept. — FMSF
involvement): FMSF materials
– Condor Systems (Intel Contractor): John Pike, American Federation of
Scientists
– Congress for Cultural Freedom: Daniel Brandt, Namebase Newsline
– Consultants International (formerly Maritime Consulting): David Corn,
The Blond Ghost
– Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations: Jack Colhoun, The
Family That Preys Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George
Bush family financial ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Cornell University, Human Ecology Fund
– Cornell University, Registrars Office (CAN and FMSF ties): ICEP
materials
– Cornell University, Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology:
Alex Constantine, Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A.
– Corporate Air Services (Oliver North Iran-Contra): John Prados,
President’s Secret Wars
– Corporate Training Unlimited (mind control related): Alex
Constantine, Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A.
– COSECOIN (Corporate Security Consultants International): Jim Houghan,
Spooks
– Council on Foreign Relations (CIA bedfellow or, as this work
suggests, CIA controller): Victor Marchetti/John D. Marks, The CIA and
The Cult of Intelligence
– Crest Detective Agency (Santa Monica): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Cryogenics, Inc. (controled by Robert Vesco): Jim Hougan, Spooks
– Cuban American National Foundation: Jack Colhoun, The Family That
Preys Together, Covert Action Quarterly (Exposes George Bush family
financial ties to intelligence community and crime figures)
– Cult Hot Line and Clinic, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s
Services: AFF materials — see also ICEP
– Cult Resource Center, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon: AFF materials