Investigation opened into Swiss encryption firm linked to CIA
The Swiss government has opened an investigation into a decades-old spying affair involving Swiss firm Crypto, following reports by Swiss public broadcaster SRF, German broadcaster ZDF and The Washington Post.
The government confirmed on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into the reports that Crypto, a Zug-based communications encryption firm, was secretly used by the CIA and West German intelligence services for decades.
The services jointly bought into the business in 1971, hiding behind the façade of a Liechtenstein-registered foundation, according to 280 pages of documents that were reported on in Switzerland by public broadcaster SRFExternal link.
Over the next decades, the intelligence services listened in on and read hundreds of thousands of messages between governments, embassies and military commands worldwide.
The spying allegedly continued until at least 2018, and over 100 countries worldwide were targeted.
Crypto reportedly had two types of encryption products: one fully secured, the other non-secured, that is, modified to allow the CIA and Germany’s BND intelligence services break codes. The operation was codenamed Thesaurus and then renamed Rubicon in 1980s.
Swiss involvement
Switzerland was one of the few countries to have been provided with the secure version, and is one of four countries – along with Israel, Sweden, and Britain – that knew of the operation or were in on some of the secret information it uncovered.
SRF’s Rundschau news programme reports that the ministry of defence first briefed the government on the case in November last year. The government opened an official investigation, led by a former supreme court judge, following its meeting on January 15.
As a result of the investigation, the economics ministry has also confirmed that the general export licence for Crypto’s devices had been suspended “until open questions have been clarified”.
The company itself was liquidated in 2018 and succeeded by a company called Crypto International, which wrote on its website that the espionage links uncovered were “very distressing”.
In 2015, Crypto was also revealed by a BBC investigation to have worked with the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the British intelligence services during the Cold War.
In its investigative pieceExternal link published on Tuesday, The Washington Post called the operation the “intelligence coup of the century” and one of the “most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War”.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
This content was published on
A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Lack of smartphone sustainability in Switzerland hits environment
This content was published on
Almost half of all Swiss citizens hang on to their old smartphones, tablets and laptops, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Police clear out pro-Palestinian students protesting in Geneva
This content was published on
The police intervened early on Tuesday to dislodge pro-Palestinian students who had been occupying the University of Geneva for almost a week.
New gel developed in Zurich renders alcohol harmless
This content was published on
A newly developed gel composed of whey proteins breaks down alcohol in the body and could reduce its harmful and intoxicating effects in humans.
Pro-Palestine protests extend to Basel and Fribourg universities
This content was published on
Demonstrators called for an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and disassociation with Chaim Weizmann, the first Israeli president.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss cryptography firm helped NSA during Cold War
This content was published on
The documents dating back to the Cold War were declassified in April and show that Crypto Ag helped the Americans and British by sharing information on code-breaking machines it sold to other countries. Swedish engineer Boris Hagelin, the founder of Crypto AG, which relocated to Switzerland from Sweden in 1952, was viewed by the NSA…
This content was published on
A parliamentary oversight body says the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) ignored regulations and badly managed a Swiss man they employed to spy on German tax authorities.
Spying game: what does the Swiss intelligence service do?
This content was published on
The Federal Intelligence Service is better known for embarrassing gaffes than for bloody missions. Ten FAQs about the FIS.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.