2/23/00
- US spy system
under attack
The European Parliament is to
investigate allegations that the US
uses electronic surveillance to spy on
companies in the EU.
The Echelon system, originally set up
during the Cold War, is known to be
capable of intercepting private
telephone conversations, faxes and
e-mails worldwide.
A committee of the
European
Parliament on
Wednesday heard
allegations that it
has been used to
help American
firms win
commercial
contracts at the
expense of
European rivals.
A report
commissioned by
the European
Parliament also alleged the UK was
helping the US to spy on its European
partners.
Both the US and the UK have denied
the allegations.
"US intelligence agencies are not
tasked to engage in industrial
espionage or obtain trade secrets for
the benefit of any US company or
companies," State Department
spokesman James Rubin said.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair denied
that Echelon had been used against
Britain's partners in Europe.
He said there were strict rules
governing such issues and they were
always applied.
France alert
The French Justice Minister, Elisabeth
Guigou, said Echelon had apparently
been diverted to keep watch on
commercial rivals, prompting French
companies to encrypt sensitive
information.
She said businesses now had to be
particularly vigilant.
"Communications must never carry
vital information, especially when the
link is made via a satellite," the
minister said.
She said that last year the
government had enabled private firms
and individuals to encode their
communications to stop them from
being intercepted.
German Christian Democratic Euro-MP
Christian von Boetticher told
reporters he estimated the economic
cost of the spying to European
business to be 20 billion euros
($20bn).
The Belgian Foreign Minister Louis
Michel said the alleged spying was
unacceptable.
'Losing out'
The report, compiled by independent
Scottish investigative journalist
Duncan Campbell, includes
allegations that sensitive commercial
information gathered through Echelon
meant the French company Thomson
lost a radar contract in Brazil, and the
European Airbus consortium lost out
to the US's Boeing in competition for
a $6bn aircraft contract.
After presenting the report to the
European Parliament's Committee for
Justice and Home Affairs, Mr
Campbell urged the EU to take action
to protect against unwanted
interception of communications,
insisting that the eavesdropping
violated human rights.
Mr Campbell alleged that national
security agencies were using several
major US corporations to aid their
interception of data capabilities.
He named Microsoft, IBM and a
certain "large American microchip
maker" as providing product features
which allowed for the interception of
information.
Echelon's existence was only recently
confirmed by the US Government
through the declassification of secret
documents of the US National
Security Agency (NSA).
Most of installations are in the US
and UK, but the report also states
that Canada, Australia and New
Zealand are partners in the
operation.
Earlier on Wednesday, New Zealand
denied that it was involved in
commercial spying.