Various ECHELON Reports From Denmark
Printed In 'Elstra Bladet'
March, 2000
KEY TO THE WHOLE WORLD
She held the key to the whole world's communication. And her
accusation is quite severe: "We violated every citizen's
right to privacy when we designed Echelon"
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeberg, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
After Ekstra Bladet published Margaret Newsham's shocking
exposures of Echelon, both the Danish parliament and the
European parliament have debatedthe global surveillance
issue. But nothing has happened. In this article, Ekstra
Bladet presents new documents and facts about Newsham's term
as an Echelon spy.
The European Commission said that Echelon is nothing but
'rumors'. At least Denmark's Minister of Defense Hans
Hokkerup admitted that this kind of system very probably
exists. He does not intend to doing anything about it
though.
Most recently, Denmark's Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
stated in a reply to member of parliament Keld Albrechtsen
that Rasmussen 'had no grounds to consider the existence of
this kind of system.'
This does not necessarily mean that he believes Echelon
exists. But it does not necessarily mean that he believes
Echelon does not exist either. It only means that Poul Nyrup
Rasmussen will not consider the issue.
All right.
We at Ekstra Bladet won't let it go at that. We are willing
to help Denmark's elected representatives get enough
information so that they can make up their minds. So we have
obtained additional documentation. Including new
documentation that strengthens the credibility of the best
eye witness so far of Echelon's outrageousness, Margaret
Newsham.
LICENSE FOR ALL SPIES
From 1974 to 1984, Margaret Newsham worked for various arms
suppliers that also make equipment for intelligence
computers and satellites: Digital Equipment, Ford Aerospace,
Digital Science, Hughes Aircraft and, the largest of them
all, Lockheed Martin (the company from which Hokkerup also
intends to buy new Hercules planes).
"We monitored ordinary people, interest groups, companies
and the like. To target specific subjects all you had to do
was code them into the computer and write 'Amnesty
International' or 'Margaret Newsham' for example. Then we
could monitor the subject in question - as they were
communicating, mind you," she tells Ekstra Bladet.
IN THE HEART OF ECHELON
Ekstra Bladet has decided - with Newsham's consent - to
print various documents that prove she was at the very core
of the NSA. We are now publishing one of this former top
spy's security authorizations, among other things.
"At one point, I was asked whether I wanted to work in the
databank. 'Oh yes, sure', I replied. It sounded interesting.
So I was eventually standing in a room where I had access to
all data from all the clandestine services. The CIA, NSA,
the army, navy, air force, the whole lot of them. To enter,
you walked through a large bank-vault door that a special
security guard had to open."
We have also decided to publish Newsham's proof that she
attended the NSA's spy school where completed a security
training program in the top-secret code language used to
operate 'Project 415' among others. Program 415 was later
given the code name Echelon.
Her training certificate is signed by B.R. Inman, who was a
director at the NSA in 1980.
Ekstra Bladet has seen the original documents shown here on
this page and has also seen Margaret Newsham's transfer
orders when she was sent to Menwith Hill, which according to
the NSA is the largest surveillance facility in the
world-wide surveillance system.
"As Crypto custodian I had daily access for a while to the
codes used at all bases all over the world. You might say I
was holding the key to the whole world," says Margaret
Newsham, who still hesitates to reveal everything to Ekstra
Bladet out of fear for retaliation.
She was still willing to reveal some of the more bizarre
security details at the secret spy factories and bases which
construct and operate the global surveillance system.
"Every day at a specific time, all the NSA's surveillance
stations around the world were required to change their
codes simultaneously. We did so by taking an encryption card
containing the new codes and inserting it in a small box at
the same time as all the other stations. After making the
change, we had the 'old' card which had to be destroyed. For
this step, the NSA had introduced a very unique security
procedure that departed from the other authorized routines.
Normally, everything was supposed to be destroyed in a
so-called 'burn bag'. Our new instructions stated that three
employees should all participate in the destruction process.
We were supposed to fill a blender with water, put the card
in the blender and turn it on."
An ordinary kitchen blender?
"Yes! After the card had been turned into a pulpy paste, we
were supposed to take the container out to the toilet. There
we stood, three persons, day in and day out flushing the old
codes down the toilet. Lastly, we all three had to sign a
statement saying that we had witnessed the destruction."
Margaret Newsham laughs at the thought of the primitive
security procedure used for the highly sophisticated program
she had helped to develop. But then she gets serious again.
"One thing I have thought about since then is our testing
procedure. It was beneath contempt."
In what way?
"We simply used live data to test the systems' function."
Does that mean that you used intercepted communication
directly for testing?
"Yes."
That wasn't very ethical was it?
"I wouldn't disagree with you there. It was highly
unacceptable."
EXTRA FACTS:
Ekstra Bladet is also in possession of Newsham's 'work
review statement' dated 23 June 1983. This paper documents
that Newsham had the following job assignments, among many
others:
'Organize, plan, develop, supervise. Retrieve source files,
declare new releases and maintain library documentation of
all software. Interface with all programmers who are
delivering software to SCCS (Software Configuration
Controls. Ed.) tools. Act as backup for computer operator in
his absence. Instruct new users on computer procedures. æ
Control and maintain history copy of all tapes and discs,
classified and unclassified for P-285 (Project 285 was part
of the program that later would be code named Echelon by the
NSA - ed.)'
She was also assigned to 'interface w/ security and document
control' and was principally responsible for the 'Software
Discrepancy Report and tracking system, for writing the SDR
program and for using Datatrieve to maintain files. These
program systems are all part of Echelon's advanced
capability of searching for specific words and concepts and
afterwards sorting and forwarding them. By and large all
intelligence was sent to the NSA's headquarters in Fort G.
Meade, Maryland, USA.
Newsham's 'work review statement' goes on to state that she
was responsible for the operations on the VAX 11/780
computer systems. Project Echelon was developed on these
very computers. She was also 'Operations Manager'. Her
supervisor, D.L. Fish, strongly praises her contribution and
concludes the following: 'Peg (Margaret Newsham - ed.) has
demonstrated a keen interest in making the program a
success'.
Many multinational companies had special military contracts
with the NSA, CIA and NASA: Ford Aerospace, Lockheed-Martin,
Motorola, Signal Science, Hughes Aircraft, Digital Equipment
Corporation, Boeing, IBM and Raytheon. Newsham and her
colleagues - who worked in private companies for the various
branches of the US army, navy and air force - developed
things like the Hubble space telescope, the Stealth bomber,
the Challenger space shuttle, the Echelon surveillance
program for the NSA, and a similar surveillance program for
the CIA, code named P-285.
[caption]
The courageous ex-spy Margaret Newsham, who felt remorse
when she discovered that Echelon violated basic human
rights.
March 21, 2000
'WE LISTENED IN ON AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND THE EU'
"Echelon has singled out Europe as an enemy, and I saw a lot
of messages about surveillance targets in Denmark," says the
fourth Echelon agent to come forward in Ekstra Bladet.
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeberg, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
Fred Stock was a secret agent in Canada's Echelon service
until he was fired for asking too many questions. For almost
fifteen years, thousands of messages on espionage targets
passed through his hands. As a result, he now has a unique
overview of what went on behind the barbed wire fences at
Echelon's listening posts in Canada and the rest of the
world. "First of all, it's important to get one thing
straight: all data intercepted around the world was sent
right to the US's intelligence agency, the NSA. Then and
only then would they decide what should be forwarded to all
the other countries."
Both US and Danish authorities assert that only military
espionage is being carried out. Is that correct?
"No, it is not. A change occurred around 1987. That was when
I suddenly started seeing more and more messages dealing
with Germany, France, The Netherlands, Denmark and other
European allies. But it is important to emphasize that we
performed a very valuable piece of work for the entire Free
World during the Cold War. Including our European allies."
THE EU AS A NEW ENEMY
What did the change involve?
"It was very unpleasant to receive messages from the NSA
telling us that the European Union, centering around
Germany, was now an enemy. The messages also mentioned the
Asian economy and Japan in particular. That was in 1990."
But they didn't actually refer to them as enemies, did they?
"Yes they did! And that was one of the things that really
shocked me. The term they used was 'enemies'. I remember it
very clearly because I went in to see my superior, Gerry
Godin, and asked him what it was all about. I was very angry
and asked him what they were up to. Why should our allies
suddenly be redefined as enemies? I swear to you, the term
was very clear."
How did your boss reply?
"He looked at it and said, 'It would be a good idea to see
it as a more contemporary meaning for the word 'enemy'.'
That infuriated me. Because the moment when we start
thinking of allied nations as our enemies marks the prelude
to starting more wars and conflicts. And from then on, I was
not treated very well at CSE because I asked too many
questions about our mission."
As a communications operator at the headquarters of the
Canadian Security Establishment (CSE), Fred Stock estimates
that he handled up to 3000 pieces of intelligence every day.
There were 55 agents with the same duties as Stock.
60 MILLION MESSAGES
That means that CSE's headquarters received some 165,000
messages every single day. That's five million a month and
roughly 60 million a year. And after 1989, a large part of
them were non-military targets. It was only a drop in the
ocean in relation to the volume received at NSA. Because
they were the ones running the whole operation. Were Danish
targets monitored?
"I saw a great deal of intelligence that had been
intercepted about Denmark, but don't ask me what it was
about. Espionage was performed on legal
politicalorganizations and allied NATO countries, as well as
on companies in Europe and Asia. I even saw papers about
specific politicians."
"The messages I received had a subject and a country at the
top of the page. The ones on which 'Denmark' was written
were 'the final product' so to speak.The interception itself
could have been made directly by a US spy station. But lots
of intercepted messages about Europe came in. They had to
have been intercepted by some of the UK's listening posts."
Canadian agent Fred Stock was fired in 1993 because he
didn't care for the fact that the NSA, the US intelligence
agency, depicted NATO countries as 'enemies' to be spied on.
March 21, 2000
IS THERE A SPY ON THE LINE?
Ex-spy meets his victim: Ekstra Bladet sets up a meeting
between former Echelon spy Fred Stock and the
secretary-general for Denmark's Amnesty organization.
Amnesty is concerned.
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeberg, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
Echelon is monitoring and spying on Amnesty International,
according to what former Canadian Echelon agent Fred Stock
tells Ekstra Bladet. The illegal surveillance and spying has
been going on for years, and countless reports on Amnesty
are circulating in the global espionage network.
Thursday afternoon, ex-spy Fred Stock had a personal
opportunity to elaborate on the illegal surveillance to
Amnesty International. This happened when Ekstra Bladet
simply went to the office of the Denmark's
secretary-general, Lars Normann Jorgensen, phoned Fred Stock
in Canada and handed the receiver to Lars Norman, so the two
of them could talk. The monitored target from Denmark and
the spy who changed sides from Canada.
"Hello, this is Lars. What can you tell me about the
surveillance of Amnesty International?" the
secretary-general asks on the phone across the Atlantic to
Canada. The replies are alarmingly detailed:
"When I was working for CSE (the Canadian Security
Establishment, Canada's Echelon service - ed.), I saw
countless reports on Amnesty International," explains ex-spy
Fred Stock.
"The great majority of the reports were final products
prepared by the NSA (National Security Agency, the US's
Echelon service - ed.)." The NSA collected the raw
intelligence from all around the world and used it in the
reports I received," says Fred Stock.
REPORTS ON PRISONERS
Amnesty's Danish secretary-general, Lars Normann Jorgensen,
continues his questioning: "Did the reports cover our
campaigns? Or were they reports on individuals who work for
Amnesty, or on some of the victims we are trying to help?"
"Some of the reports were about eyewitnesses and prisoners
of conscience in prisons around the world. But there were
also reports on forthcoming campaigns, and occasionally we
received reports with other information about the
organization."
"My job was to receive the incoming reports and forward them
to the analysts who were responsible for evaluating the
contents."
Ex-spy Fred Stock has a long talk with Amnesty's
secretary-general. After they hang up, it is Ekstra Bladet's
turn to talk with the Mr. Jorgensen.
Are you surprised?
"No, not really. We know it's going on. But the proportions
astonish me. I also think it's interesting that they
collected reports on prisoners of conscience and political
prisoners. These prisoners are often prominent persons who
occasionally end up in very important positions.
Take Nelson Mandela or Vaclav Havel, for instance," says
Lars Normann Jorgensen.
"In general, I would say that if someone wanted to know more
about Amnesty, we prefer that they enter through the front
door," he adds with a wry smile.
"But it's a rather atypical problem for Amnesty
International. Usually, we are the ones trying to clarify
how 'other' persons' rights are being violated."
What are the implications for your organization?
"It clearly gives rise to a fundamental concern for the
safety of both the victims and the witnesses," concludes the
secretary-general.
Now, Lars Normann intends to alert his Amnesty colleagues in
Canada, and tell them about Fred Stock. At the same time he
will contact Amnesty International Headquarters in London.
"I want to make sure that the Canadian organization realizes
that Fred Stock possesses this knowledge. Afterward, I will
contact our international headquarters in London to find out
how we can clear this up with the responsible politicians."
[caption]
Ekstra Bladet hands the receiver to Amnesty's Danish
secretary-general. At the other end of the line is Fred
Stock, the Echelon agent who spied on Amnesty International.
March 23, 2000
WE SPIED ON COMPANIES AND HEADS OF STaTE
Echelon's espionage was aimed at European companies and
political heads of state says defected Canadian spy, Fred
Stock.
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeberg, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
Shortly before the Berlin Wall came tumbling down in 1989,
Echelon's espionage services were reorganized to perform
espionage on political and financial circles in Europe.
So says defected Echelon spy Fred Stock to Ekstra Bladet
today. Fred Stock experienced how the CSE, Canada's Echelon
service, was instructed by Echelon's big brother in the US,
the NSA, to focus on politics, interest groups and companies
in the 'European Union'.
"We were up to date on the negotiating positions of many
companies. We knew what they were making offers for and
when. On the whole, we were quite well informed on the
issues they were considering."
Do you remember the names of any specific companies?
"Thousands of messages passed through my hands, but I
remember a company named Airbus, for example. We had a lot
of intelligence on them."
KNEW THE PRICE
"We knew which plane France wanted to sell and at what
price. Basically, we were informed of everything that was
involved in major transactions, like who was submitting
tenders and the figures they were operating with, what they
were willing to pay and sell for. We kept a close eye on
what was happening in the agricultural sector, too. Big
wheat deals, for example."
So you were deliberately monitoring transactions like the
one in France to find out what they were offering?
"Yes, there were a lot of examples of that kind of thing."
THE BAD GUYS
According to Ekstra Bladet's sources, Europe's jointly-owned
Airbus aerospace company lost a major order to Saudi Arabia
in 1994. The winners in the deal were two US companies,
Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas, who received an order totaling
42 billion Danish kroner (6 billion US dollars).
Fred Stock's information about extensive industrial
espionage is confirmed by another former CSE agent, Edwina
Slattery, whom Ekstra Bladet has spoken with.
"My job only involved analyzing surveillance against 'the
bad guys', (the East bloc countries - ed.)." But there were
other departments that took care of financial spying and
industrial espionage."
POLITICIANS ON THE LINE
Echelon's surveillance was also used to keep close tabs on
Europe's politicians. Fred Stock tells how:
"We knew where the various politicians were, and what they
intended to do. We had nothing less than access to their
personal plans."
Did that also include politicians in Europe?
"Definitely. Even heads of state. Based on the intelligence
I saw, we knew who they were supposed to meet and what they
had discussed. "It was a fascinating job. We were constantly
on top of events that were happening all over the world. I
always thought it would have been a perfect job for a
journalist," smiles Fred Stock.
[caption]
Leitrim, the CSE's largest listening post in Canada. From
here, espionage was carried out on European companies and
politicians. Almost everything was sent direct to Echelon's
string-pullers, the NSA in Maryland, USA.
EXTRA FACTS:
FIRED FOR ASKING QUESTIONS
Fred Stock was fired from his intelligence job in 1993. The
dismissal came after several years of harassment from his
colleagues in the espionage service. Fred Stock was fired in
the late 80s because he started asking too many questions
about the moral, ethical and legal status of their espionage
activities. It wasn't a very popular thing to do.
"Their harassment really got rough after I decided to talk
with members of the Canadian parliament. And after firing me
in '93, they pulled out all the stops."
After almost twenty years of service for the clandestine
agencies, the CSE tried to deprive him of his rightful
pension. To this very day, Fred Stock is still struggling to
for his right to receive it. At the same time, he is living
at a subsistence level - because the harassment from the
spies has continued all the way to the present. Fred Stock
has had great difficulty getting a new job, for example.
Even as an ordinary office clerk.
"Every time I felt like the job interview had gone very
well, I was rejected anyway. I wondered why, until I
discovered that CSE was putting obstacles in my way. Several
times they even turned up at my address and tried to bully
me into not talking to anyone."
"At one point, the boss for the CSE's security group showed
up with another man in black. Just to intimidate me."
March 23, 2000
GREENPEACE SINGLED OUT AS SURVEILLANCE Target
We knew what Greenpeace intended to do before they even
realized it themselves, reveals former Echelon agent.
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeberg, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
The legal, political-environmental organization Greenpeace
is under constant surveillance by US and Canadian agents
through the NSA's Echelon system. So says former Canadian
spy Fred Stock to Ekstra Bladet today.
"Based on the messages I saw, it was very clear that we
could follow Greenpeace's vessels everywhere they went. And
we were totally aware of their precise positions at all
times."
Fred Stock was communications operator in Canada's espionage
service which to this very day is directly linked to the
NSA's global surveillance system. Fred Stock received the
monitored messages at the espionage headquarters in Ottawa,
Canada, sorted them and saw to it that they were distributed
to analysts in the espionage service.
"There were always messages about Greenpeace. The messages
dealt with their ships, where they were docked, their
presumed destinations and planned activities.
"What about the local groups on land?
We were highly and specifically informed on their intended
plans - in advance. Before they even did anything.
Greenpeace was a very important target. Simply speaking, we
knew what they were going to do before they even knew it
themselves."
FREEDOM AT STAKE
At the environmental organization's Scandinavian
headquarters, the information is somewhat of a shock to
campaign manager Jan Sondergard.
"It is really very frightening, very disturbing. I am also
very distressed on behalf of other NGO's, to put it mildly."
It's right to say that your organization is involved in
'direct actions' though, isn't it?
"Yes, but we don't try to hide it either. It is also known
as normal civil disobedience, but without any form of
violence and vandalism, and we are very open about what we
do."
"I feel very uneasy about what you just told me."
How so?
"Well, we're talking about basic constitutional rights and
the right to privacy. I want to be able to talk to my
friends, colleagues and family without anyone else listening
in. We are a fully legal political enterprise. And the
people who participate in our actions are willing to take
their punishment if it turns out they have violated the
limits of the law. This is a very unpleasant situation."
ARRESTED BEFORE THE ACTION
Mads Christensen is an action supervisor at Greenpeace. He
is not nearly as surprised when Ekstra Bladet tells him that
Greenpeace is on Echelon's blacklist. Mads Christensen tells
how Greenpeace has recently experienced events that clearly
indicate they are being spied on. One incident involved the
arrest of a Greenpeace activist 'before' they even went into
action.
"We organized four actions all of which were targeted
against genetically modified products, and three of them
failed. As a matter of fact, our actions normally succeed."
"The interesting feature is that the three failed actions
were all directed at US ships containing genetically
modified products from the Monsanto company. At one of the
actions, our activists were arrested in England before they
even had a chance to take action, and in the two other
cases, the targeted ships were diverted."
What was the successful action's target?
"An Argentine ship, and it was odd that the only action not
directed at a US company was the one that succeeded.
[captions]
Out of four actions against genetically modified products,
three failed and all three were directed against US ships.
Only the action here in Denmark's rhus Harbor was a
success. It was against an Argentine ship, the Legionario.
March 29, 2000
EU DEMANDS ECHELON INVESTIGATION
Echelon shall now be thoroughly investigated. The European
Parliament is demanding a commission of investigation
following Ekstra Bladet's disclosures.
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeberg, Ekstra Bladet, Denmark
At last, official pressure is being brought to bear.
Thursday the European Parliament will demand the appointment
of a commission of inquiry into Echelon and thereby provide
an official account of the extensive espionage activities.
This demand was raised after Ekstra Bladet's long series of
disclosures on the illegal international spy ring. Ekstra
Bladet has documented how the global espionage network,
Echelon, has continuously spied on Amnesty International,
Greenpeace, the Red Cross, European companies, politicians
and heads of state.
Tuesday, at least 171 members of the Parliament signed a
demand requiring the appointment of a commission of
investigation. To demand an investigation requires the
signatures of at least one-fourth of all members of the
European Parliament, i.e. 157. So this minimum requirement
has been met by a wide margin.
Patricia McKenna, Ireland, together with Jens Peter Bonde,
Denmark's June Movement, and Pernille Frahm, Denmark's
Socialist People's Party, have led the campaign for an
investigation of Echelon, which was referred to as 'rumors'
by the European Commission only last month. And the same
system that the Danish government has refused to investigate
up to now.
Are you surprised, Jens Peter Bonde?
"No, not really. Because after your most recent exposures in
which former agents came forward with names and pictures and
after the CIA's former director admitted that espionage had
actually occurred, it was impossible to sustain an illusion
that Echelon doesn't exist."
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
"Now we have to start clearing up this whole matter and see
if we can find all Ekstra Bladet's sources. They need to be
called in and interrogated as witnesses. In my opinion,
we're talking about criminal activities that need to be
thoroughly investigated," says Jens Peter Bonde from the
June Movement.
This will light a fire under the otherwise congenial
cooperation between the fifteen member states of the EU.
Because the UK plays an important role as the USA's most
important partner in the Echelon system, along with Canada
and Australia.
The largest station in the international surveillance ring
is named Menwith Hill and is located in northern England.
The other EU participants in Echelon are Germany, which has
a large base in Bad Aibling, together with Denmark which is
coupled up as a third-party partner with its Sandagergard
Station located at Aflandshage on the island of Amager.
France, on the other hand, does not participate in the
Echelon cooperation, but is believed to have its very own
surveillance system.
Back home in Denmark, the Confederation of Danish Industries
is now demanding that the government provide an account of
the situation. "With all the pieces of evidence and the
publicized documentation, they cannot ignore this any
longer," says Marianne Castenskiold from the Confederation
of Danish Industries.
"The uncertainty is intolerable, so we demand that the
government account for the situation, and we have already
initiated a dialogue with them on this issue. I am very
pleased that the European Parliament is taking this step,"
says Marianne Castenskiold to Ekstra Bladet.
COMMOTION IN THE HENHOUSE
On the political front, too, there is a commotion in the
Danish henhouse. Monday and Tuesday, the Danish government
was hit by a new barrage of questions on the Echelon
cooperation. This time it was Minister of Foreign Affairs
Niels Helveg Petersen and Minister of Justice Frank Jensen
who were under fire.
After Ekstra Bladet's most recent disclosures of espionage
against large companies in the EU, like the Airbus aerospace
company, and of spying on the Red Cross, Amnesty
International and Greenpeace, Knud Erik Hansen of the
Socialist People's Party wants to know what steps the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to take as a result of
these revelations.
"What is the Minister's position on the fact that the USA's
intelligence agency, the NSA, is listening in on electronic
communication from NGO's (i.e. Amnesty International,
Greenpeace and the Red Cross) and companies, and does the
Minister of Foreign Affairs intend to discuss the matter
with the US government?" asks Hansen, who is the party's IT
spokesman.
The Danish parliament's tireless Duracell bunny, Keld
Albrechtsen of the Unity Party, would like Frank Jensen to
contact the US government to clear up the issue of "How and
when has US surveillance and espionage been directed against
Danish citizens and interests?"
He will ask this question in the Danish parliament on April
5.
[caption]
EU demands an investigation of Echelon. Jens Peter Bonde:
"Now we must demand that Ekstra Bladet's sources be called
in. They must be interrogated as witnesses."
March 31, 2000
"This is the confirmation of Echelon's existence, isn't it?"
"Yes," says Mr. Dietrich from the German intelligence
service, Verfassungsschutz.
GERMAN SPIES: ECHELON EXISTS
For 18 months now, Germany's intelligence service has issued
warnings against Echelon's industrial espionage
By Bo Elkjaer and Kenan Seeburg
Dig that. Today, Ekstra Bladet can help the upcoming
parliamentary commission that shall investigate Echelon. We
can now document that the German intelligence service has
been warning against Echelon's espionage for at least 18
months. In Denmark, the Military Intelligence Service (FE)
states that they know nothing more than what they read in
the newspapers.
They tackle the situation a little differently in Germany.
Germany's national intelligence agency, Verfassungsschutz,
openly warns its business and industry community against
Echelon. Germany's intelligence agencies do more than just
warn against the spying, however.
They also instruct German industry in how to protect
themselves against the illegal espionage network. Since June
1999, the German intelligence service has been recommending
German companies to encrypt all important information, i.e.
encode it to prevent Echelon's spies from listening in.
And the entire process is very open. Verfassungsschutz has
issued its warnings and protection guidelines as folders
which they send to German industry.
THIS IS A WARNING
The German intelligence service's descriptions of Echelon
totally confirm Ekstra Bladet's disclosures during the past
six months in which defected spies have told about their
work at these very same espionage bases shown on the
revealing map.
The warning issued by Verfassungsschutz is dated October
1998. It contains a graphic depiction of the 'Echelon global
electronic intelligence system' showing a world map with
several Echelon listening posts drawn in. The same listening
posts that Ekstra Bladet has described in countless articles
over the past six months. The drawing shows how the US,
Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are
systematically monitoring all communication around the
world. 'Without filtering, Echelon monitors all e-mail,
telephone, facsimile and telex communication sent via
satellite around the world," writes the German intelligence
agency, Verfassungsschutz. Ekstra Bladet spoke with
Verfassungsschutz to confirm that their warning should be
taken seriously.
Did you issue this same warning to German industry?
"Yes. We did," says a spokesman for Verfassungsschutz who
says his name is Mr. Dietrich.
The reason I am asking is to confirm whether this is your
stationery.
"Well, it is."
This is the confirmation of Echelon's existence, isn't it?
"Yes," says Mr. Dietrich from the German intelligence
service, Verfassungsschutz.æ
FE KNOWS NOTHING
Denmark's military intelligence service, FE, whistles a
completely different tune.æ
"All we know about Echelon's existence comes from so-called
'open sources' (press and media coverage - ed.). Like
stories you have written and articles published by the
foreign press."
What information have you passed on to Denmark's Minister of
Defense?
"We told him that we do not participate in Echelon and that
the only information we have on it comes from 'open
sources', like I said," says Michael Peytz from the FE.
At the risk of sounding brazen, one might ask whether the
taxpayers are getting enough for their money if the
intelligence service states that it knows nothing about an
extensive system that Germany's Verfassungsschutz has known
about for 18 months?
"Yes, one could ask that question. But we don't know
anything about it. And like I said, we have not participated
in it nor do we know anything about it.," says Michael Peytz
to Ekstra Bladet.
So you do not have any other knowledge of Echelon other than
that what you have read in 'open sources'?
"No we don't. That is correct."
Which is also what you have informed the Minister?
"Yes, it is," says Michael Peytz.
TWO-THIRDS INDUSTRIAL SPIES
According to Germany's Verfassungsschutz, Echelon's
industrial espionage should be taken very seriously. In
statistics compiled by Verfassungsschutz on espionage cases
from 1997, industrial espionage constitutes not less than 62
percent - or two-thirds - of all espionage cases in Germany
known to Verfassungsschutz. The report from the German
intelligence service also states that the US espionage
services behind Echelon - the CIA and the NSA - are the only
Western intelligence services in a group that otherwise
consists of Libyan, Iranian, Iraqi, Chinese and North Korean
intelligence services - the very same spy agencies that the
Americans themselves have singled out as the "main enemies"
on several occasions since the end of the Cold War.
Denmark's Prime Minister, Minster of Justice and Minister of
Defense all declined to comment on the German information.
The Confederation of Danish Industries has applied pressure
on the Danish Government for a thorough account of the
situation.
Marianne Castenskiold, from the Confederation of Danish
Industries, believes not only that Echelon should be
investigated, but also that light should be shed on the role
of Denmark's intelligence services.
ECHELON IN THE EU
The European Commission refuses to acknowledge the existence
of Echelon. In a report before the European Parliament, the
Finnish Commissioner for Industry, Errki Likkanen, rejected
the notion that Echelon exists. By contrast, he recited a
statement, without personal comment, from the US State
Department which asserted that the US does not commit
industrial espionage against European countries. He also
referred to a letter from Great Britain's EU ambassador,
Stephen Wahl, who asserts that British spies are only
permitted to monitor telecommunications if national security
is at stake.
"This is very embarrassing," says Jens-Peter Bonde,
Denmark's June Movement, who like Pernille Frahm, Denmark's
Socialist People's Party, had anticipated that the
Commission would humble themselves and admit their knowledge
of Echelon. The two parliament members have now collected
more than 200 signatures for a commission of investigation
that shall clear up Echelon's espionage against European
countries.
"I thoroughly anticipate that the investigation will be
adopted in the Parliament, next month at the latest,"
informs Bonde.
He goes on to state that Germany's social democratic group
will in all probability also support the demand for an
investigation.
There was an opening from the Council of Ministers, however.
In a statement from the Parliament rostrum, Chairman
Fernando Gomez denounced Echelon 'to the extent that it
exists', as he put it.