Phone chipmaker Gemalto
probes report of hacking by U.S., UK spies
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[February 20, 2015]
PARIS (Reuters) - Gemalto said on
Friday it was investigating a report U.S. and British spies had hacked
its systems to steal the privacy-protecting encryption keys in the chips
it makes for mobile phones.
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Citing documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the
report said the hack allowed the agencies to monitor a large portion
of voice and data mobile communications around the world without
permission from governments and telecom companies.
Gemalto's shares sank as much as 10 percent in huge volumes in early
trading after the news website Intercept reported the hack by the
U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's Government
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
"We take this publication very seriously and will devote all
resources necessary to fully investigate and understand the scope of
such sophisticated techniques," the company said in a statement.
The hack by the National Security Agency (NSA) and UK's Government
Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) allowed the agencies to monitor a
large portion of voice and data mobile communications around the
world without permission from governments and telecom companies,
according to the report.
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The breach was detailed in a secret 2010 GCHQ document, Intercept
said.
Franco-Dutch company Gemalto makes smart chips for mobile phones,
bank cards and biometric passports and counts Verizon, AT&T Inc and
Vodafone among its 450 wireless network provider customers around
the world.
"If these attacks were to be confirmed and did allow access to
various communications, it would be very damaging for Gemalto's
reputation," a Paris-based trader said.
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Gemalto officials declined further comment on Friday but in an
emailed statement earlier a spokeswoman said: "From what we gathered
at this moment, the target was not Gemalto, per se - it was an
attempt to try and cast the widest net possible to reach as many
mobile phones as possible".
A spokesperson for Britain's GCHQ said the agency did not comment on
intelligence matters. NSA could not be immediately reached for
comment.
Published by First Look Media, Intercept was founded by U.S.
documentary maker Laura Poitras, investigative reporter Jeremy
Scahill and Glenn Greenwald, who made headlines with his reporting
on U.S. electronic surveillance programs.
(Reporting by Abhirup Roy and Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru, Leigh
Thomas, Cyril Altmeyer and Blaise Robinson in Paris; Editing by
Andrew Callus)
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