Great article, and a great read.
Your description of fixing the printer after it exploded made me want to give up, and I wasn't even working on it!
Thanks for a very enjoyable reading time.
The references to NSA are totally off.
Crypto AG was majority owned by CIA and BND. Get the facts straight.
Apart from that, it's an interesting story.
The references to NSA are totally off.
Crypto AG was majority owned by CIA and BND. Get the facts straight.
I think you misread Jonpaul's article. (And might want to use less harsh language in light of that.)
To my knowledge, the NSA was indeed "involved" with Crypto AG by providing technology help, and getting breakable crypto implementations in return. In addition, and a bit later, the CIA and BND became owners of Crypto AG as you state. And that's exactly what the article says:
[...] in 1966, the relationship among CAG, the NSA, and the CIA went to the next level. That year, the NSA delivered to its Swiss partner an electronic enciphering system that became the basis of a CAG machine called the H-460. Introduced in 1970, the machine was a failure. However, there were bigger changes afoot at CAG: That same year, the CIA and the German Federal Intelligence Service secretly acquired CAG for US $5.75 million.
I noticed your article was written up on Hack-A-Day's Links.
Congrats.