4 ms·

The fact that Crypto AG was an intelligence front has been publicly known since at least the 1990s [1]. Why did the Washington Post rehash this story recently a

The fact that Crypto AG was an intelligence front has been publicly known since at least the 1990s [1]. Why did the Washington Post rehash this story recently and pass it off as news? I'm glad that they did, because it spreads awareness - I'm just confused as to why. [1] https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-12-10-1995344001-story.html https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1995-12-10-19953440...

rapsey 7y ago
You can be sure it servers someones agenda.
mxcrossb 7y ago
Because of the new released documents. It says exactly this in their story. And why is it every time some article comes out about US spying, there is always someone complaining that they knew this all along? Good for you?
- Ansil849 7y ago
  It's not that "I knew it all along", it's that this was a well-covered story that was already news in the '90s, based on documents as well, e.g. from the Baltimore Sun: > For years, NSA secretly rigged Crypto AG machines so that U.S. eavesdroppers could easily break their codes, according to former company employees whose story is supported by company documents. See also the 1992 news stories about the arrest of Hans Buehler [1], further elaborated in a 1998 article in Covert Action Quarterly [2]: > The cover shielding the NSA-Crypto AG relationship was torn in March 1992, when the Iranian military counterintelligence service arrested Hans Buehler, Crypto AG's marketing representative in Teheran. [1] https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/03/30/Iran-arrests-Swiss-man-for-espionage/7727701931600/ https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/03/30/Iran-arrests-Swiss-m... [2] http://mediafilter.org/caq/cryptogate/ http://mediafilter.org/caq/cryptogate/
  - Tenoke 7y ago
    Yet some nations, companies and the later owner weren't convinced that's the case until much later. As the Post's story mentions.
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    Isn't there a rather significant difference between NSA and CIA+BND?
- Brave-Steak 7y ago
  Which newly released documents? Quote the article because I can't find anything. Every article I'm seeing in the past week refers to documents released in 2015. Why the fuck now? It reeks of public manipulation, especially with the US increasing efforts to convince people not to use Huawei equipment.
  - Ansil849 7y ago
    > Every article I'm seeing in the past week refers to documents released in 2015. That's correct. The documents were reported on by the BBC in 2015 [1], directly linking to the declassified NSA memos [2][3]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33676028 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33676028 [2] https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/CorrespondenceMemorandaandPersonnelFileRecords/FOLDER_117/42035009107382.pdf https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/Cor... [3] https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/ReportsandResearchNotes/FOLDER_109/41741409078064.pdf https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/Rep...
maqp 7y ago
GDPR blocked in the EU. Any mirror?
- thamer 7y ago
  https://outline.com/7h4Wfg https://outline.com/7h4Wfg
  - maqp 7y ago
    many thanks!
inscionent 7y ago
From the article you linked to. It is new story because there are new details. > Many details of the arrangements between Crypto and NSA are not known, including when the rigging began, whether it has ended and which machines were involved. The whole story will be told only when secret U.S. documents are declassified, probably well into the next century. > Crypto rejects the rigging allegations as an invention by disgruntled former employees and denies that its machines were ever designed or altered according to the suggestions of American spies.
hans1729 7y ago
>Why did the Washington Post rehash this story recently [tinfoil alert] Word going around in Germany is that Tagesschau waited for the CIA to sell their shares (which happened in 2018) [0] [0] https://blog.fefe.de/?ts=a0bc69cb https://blog.fefe.de/?ts=a0bc69cb
nickbauman 7y ago
Yeah I can concur. I remember hearing about this looong time ago. More than a decade ago. First time I heard about it was from a speech given by Noam Chomsky.
jmull 7y ago
> Why did the Washington Post rehash this story recently and pass it off as news? They didn't pass it off as news. It's a long-form journalism story. This form covers more complex stories and aren't limited to new things that just happened. Stories where the facts come out over time or require multiple perspectives can't always be adequately told through a series of "what's new" updates. But, still, why? The editors of The Washington Post would have to answer that. The timing is arbitrary. They could have done it months ago or months from now. The author most likely found it, thought it would make a good story and pitched it to his editors (he is likely planning to turn it into a book if it gets some traction). This kind of thing would be a normal part of a journalists job. (Well, most don't get to do deeper stories like this very often, so he's probably pretty senior -- I just checked and he has a couple Pulitzers, so there you go.) I would guess the editors simply agreed with his pitch. In short: the timing is arbitrary. The people who do this kind of thing just thought it would be an interesting story to tell, in-depth.

rapsey 7y ago

You can be sure it servers someones agenda.

mxcrossb 7y ago

Because of the new released documents. It says exactly this in their story. And why is it every time some article comes out about US spying, there is always someone complaining that they knew this all along? Good for you?

Ansil849 7y ago
It's not that "I knew it all along", it's that this was a well-covered story that was already news in the '90s, based on documents as well, e.g. from the Baltimore Sun: > For years, NSA secretly rigged Crypto AG machines so that U.S. eavesdroppers could easily break their codes, according to former company employees whose story is supported by company documents. See also the 1992 news stories about the arrest of Hans Buehler [1], further elaborated in a 1998 article in Covert Action Quarterly [2]: > The cover shielding the NSA-Crypto AG relationship was torn in March 1992, when the Iranian military counterintelligence service arrested Hans Buehler, Crypto AG's marketing representative in Teheran. [1] https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/03/30/Iran-arrests-Swiss-man-for-espionage/7727701931600/ https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/03/30/Iran-arrests-Swiss-m... [2] http://mediafilter.org/caq/cryptogate/ http://mediafilter.org/caq/cryptogate/
- Tenoke 7y ago
  Yet some nations, companies and the later owner weren't convinced that's the case until much later. As the Post's story mentions.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  Isn't there a rather significant difference between NSA and CIA+BND?
Brave-Steak 7y ago
Which newly released documents? Quote the article because I can't find anything. Every article I'm seeing in the past week refers to documents released in 2015. Why the fuck now? It reeks of public manipulation, especially with the US increasing efforts to convince people not to use Huawei equipment.
- Ansil849 7y ago
  > Every article I'm seeing in the past week refers to documents released in 2015. That's correct. The documents were reported on by the BBC in 2015 [1], directly linking to the declassified NSA memos [2][3]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33676028 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33676028 [2] https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/CorrespondenceMemorandaandPersonnelFileRecords/FOLDER_117/42035009107382.pdf https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/Cor... [3] https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/ReportsandResearchNotes/FOLDER_109/41741409078064.pdf https://www.nsa.gov/public_info/_files/friedmanDocuments/Rep...

maqp 7y ago

GDPR blocked in the EU. Any mirror?

thamer 7y ago
https://outline.com/7h4Wfg https://outline.com/7h4Wfg
- maqp 7y ago
  many thanks!

inscionent 7y ago

From the article you linked to. It is new story because there are new details. > Many details of the arrangements between Crypto and NSA are not known, including when the rigging began, whether it has ended and which machines were involved. The whole story will be told only when secret U.S. documents are declassified, probably well into the next century. > Crypto rejects the rigging allegations as an invention by disgruntled former employees and denies that its machines were ever designed or altered according to the suggestions of American spies.

hans1729 7y ago

>Why did the Washington Post rehash this story recently [tinfoil alert] Word going around in Germany is that Tagesschau waited for the CIA to sell their shares (which happened in 2018) [0] [0] https://blog.fefe.de/?ts=a0bc69cb https://blog.fefe.de/?ts=a0bc69cb

nickbauman 7y ago

Yeah I can concur. I remember hearing about this looong time ago. More than a decade ago. First time I heard about it was from a speech given by Noam Chomsky.

jmull 7y ago

> Why did the Washington Post rehash this story recently and pass it off as news? They didn't pass it off as news. It's a long-form journalism story. This form covers more complex stories and aren't limited to new things that just happened. Stories where the facts come out over time or require multiple perspectives can't always be adequately told through a series of "what's new" updates. But, still, why? The editors of The Washington Post would have to answer that. The timing is arbitrary. They could have done it months ago or months from now. The author most likely found it, thought it would make a good story and pitched it to his editors (he is likely planning to turn it into a book if it gets some traction). This kind of thing would be a normal part of a journalists job. (Well, most don't get to do deeper stories like this very often, so he's probably pretty senior -- I just checked and he has a couple Pulitzers, so there you go.) I would guess the editors simply agreed with his pitch. In short: the timing is arbitrary. The people who do this kind of thing just thought it would be an interesting story to tell, in-depth.