From: George A. Gleason <gg@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 03:31:18 PST
To: markoff@nyt.com
Subject: Re:  Cryptographer jailed for selling crypto to political opposition?
Message-ID: <199211161129.AA29310@well.sf.ca.us>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Crypto AG is the current name of the Hagelin company, which was founded by
Boris Hagelin shortly before WW2.  Hagelin's main contribution was the
advancement of the mechanical rotor system; their M-209 was a basic part of
Allied battlefield operations.  This machine was about the size of a desk
phone base, and had a little knob which you'd turn to the letter you wanted
to enter, one letter at a time, and after each letter you'd press a handle,
whicc would operate the mechanism and printo out both a cleartext and
ciphertext strip on paper.  The ciphertext would be handed to the radio
operator to be sent in morse (or in civilian use, via telegraph land-lines).

Hagelin made various versions of their basic rotor machine.  One was a
pocket-sized unit, like 3" x 5", with a rotary alphabetic dial on the front.

Hagelin supplied most of the noncommunist world with crypto tech after WW2.

Chances are that Crypto AG has sufficient connexions in high places as to be
able to get its people out of there.  I'm familiar with another case
involving a large northern Euro maker of telecom systems who had two
engineers taken hostage in Iraq on some inflated charge, and sentenced to 7
years... the company fully expects to have its engineers out of there within
six months, no question about it.    

-gg@well.sf.ca.us