U.S. BUSINESSES WARNED OF SOVIET EAVESDROPPING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B01125R000300120020-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 10, 2012
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: November 20, 1977
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

l l1 .J. i. JLt'.t l': ;: i , 1 I
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/10: CIA-RDP88B01125R000300120020-9
20 1t0vZ.>dBER 1977
611V epbj r
PAB - 3
By CHARLES OSOLLY The officials confirmed :Sources have said that one -information could be used by'
_: x~.FCont~~r en ~vasAx~a: euretu previous '-disclosures that reason the U.S. government industrial spies to gain 21 2.
IVASHINGT3N ? - - The . Soviet agents at four nil- has been so reluctant to dis- .economic advantage over
,.Czr;~i administratioz, ? is crowave eavesdropping- sites cuss publicly the Soviet inter- their comnpetitors, and warned
-w- -niag the U.S. business in three U.S. cites have been ception of domestic phone that the same technologIr t,'iaE :
r.,:mu:ity to avoid discuss- tuning in on government and calls in the United States was : enables tie Soviets to
reoaiWr
i.;g sensitive technological or private rrricrowave transmis- L' a fear that it would eadan- microwas links is also
signs for several years, ger the U.S. security agency's I readilt available to private
economic icier nation over
(-According to intelligence worldwide eavesdropping ro- ~ ' ' tted
the telephone because, it may ( sources, the phone calls are p citizens fin Uni Stater
grams. in Russia and other The -officials sa_
be overheard by Soviet agents' being picked up by sensitive countries. - :_;:..:: -, id the Sovi
and industrial spies. antennas on the roof of the 5ep? JJaniel'P: ltiioynihazr, l-) . .apparently are feet sing
In a major break with the Soviet Embassy in Washing.. (N.Y., a member of the Senate I their monitoring effort on
secrecy that has surrounded ! ton, the Soviet Union's mis- Intelligence Committee who leased circuits because calls
electronic eavesdropping in sign to the United Nations and has blasted the Carter admire from a particular company or
its diplomatic retreat in New is(ratlon for allowing the individual are always routed
lhc Fas% a i 'avstrat:on offi- York City, and at its consu eavesdroing same 621s are alerting major de- circuits in San Francisco. PP e to continue along the sea circuit, and
ier.5e contractors and other . without protest, said Friday because it is easier for con;
Soviet spy ships anchored that the effort to "alert the puters to sort throw=,
indutries that their telephone off the U.S- coast, as well as Arerican people" to the prob- calls on such
calls axe being or cold be ,.
u tIa
and
intercepted e said wing so- 'Yen-et!' orbiting lem was "responsible and cate information of interest,
p terse tad electron c equip- overhead, are also thought to laudable" On the regular long dis
be intercept n microwave
Moynihan; oynihan; who has infra- _fance commercial network,
transmissions. . ? , duced legislation that. v ould calls are relayed along a vari
According to government intelligence sources have require the U.S. to eject an ,.,
offici T; familiar with the J any : ety of route, ush,,t cables of fie n~ said the Pentagons National foreign diplomat caught as well- as microwave -and
os, industry executives Security- Agency became eavesdro ing on the U.S. saleIIite relays - malting it
are being told that their long- aware of the Soviet eaves- l Pp '
distance phone calls are bolo to ephone s}-stein, also praised extremely difficult if not
?'
i; dropping several years ago the decision to "raise this impossible, to locate all calls
overheard as they are relayed and launched a top-secret matter in negotiations with from a particular telephone
either by ground microwave project to counter it
? - ??,.. the Soviet Union. They (the or company at z single moni-
links or by domestic con- - -
li
rinuni nk cation satellites. = ? ' Soviets) may indeed find it ioring?site.
:? The effort was ordered con-- strange that we worry -e o -. Officials said President
The companies that operate tinned by President Carter in much about. protecting the :Carter last week approved a
t e telephone circuits also are March, and the industry brief- privacy of our citizens. But lnumber of additional govern-
being alerted to the danger; ings began this summer while that is their problem, not 'meat initiatives to counter the
?l officals said the first the White House was develop- ours;' ,. -
brieirnos are tieing given to ing a comprehensive plan to. GoVernme-nt'officials said Soviet eavesdropping threat.
co npan:es vs?ricd? are either Among them were:
compa to be tz.c a of Soviet d~ with the problem. _ _ .? - the Soviet eavesdropping does Creation of t 12-member
r.:icrowave eavesdropping hears and 17 industrial and .. to classified defense informa- headed by Carter's ad
which are 'possible' targets commercial businesses had Von, since- that is always viser on
N--cause of the nature of their been briefed bp'the_,end of transmitted in code or on "se-
F -
bnsiness and the routin
g o
. their telephone calls. last week- cure" car~auaications links
the ssarrin 2sc focusin In addition to the industry Bit they.' noted that a large
g briefings, officials said the amount of. unclassified data,
en companies using private, Unite-d States is "discussin " such or leased tole hone circuits. l; as technological develop-
P? -'the eavesdropping as part of ments and."inside' economic
because they are .he most' its "continuing negotiations jisfcrmnation;-could 'be cal-
vuln_erable to - electronic with the Soviet U, ion to-halt lected and used by foreign
eavesdropping. - the sporadic r-icrowave bony- 2gents against the best inter-
ice o.ficials said the gov- bardmeut of the U.S. es s of the United States.
erne:Ent has' no direct evi- Erchasry in Moscow.'. -T^} also noted that such
donee that the Soviets are lis- --The mi
s `?.. . ..
"fl
di
wave
oo
ng
ter Ong in on the commercial of the embassy, which some
long distance microwave net- .-medical experts believe has
work Used by most ? adversely affected the health
Americans, although such of State Department officials
xnomtoring is technically workin- there, is thought to
f'-
p si 1 . `~ tee r >z ..`tt nt by the Soviets
CQNT1NUEJ
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/10: CIA-RDP88B01125R000300120020-9
 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/10: CIA-RDP88B01125R000300120020-9
science and technology, Dr.
Frank Press, to coordinate
the efforts of the Defense and
Commerce departments and
other agencies attempting to
improve telephone security.
? Increasing the govern
rnent's research and develop-
ment budget for communica-
tions security equipment from
$10 million during the current
fiscal year to $15 million for
FY 1978.
Rerouting most govern.
ment calls in Washington,
New York and San Francisco
from microwave to cable, to
eliminate the possibility of
Soviet monitoring. The rerout-
ing project has nearly been
completed in Washington, and
should be finished in New
York and San Francisco by
the end of next year.
? Continuing the develop-
ment of an '-'executive secure
voice network" system, which
allows government officials to
make telephone calls on regu-;
lar commercial or govern-.
Soviet 'spy ships anchored off the U.S.
coast, as well as orbiting satellifes, are
also thought to be intercepting mirrowa -
transmissions.
ment -lines. The, system, 150 more units at about
developed by. the security $5,000 apiece.
agency, is linked to a central ? Testing, early next year,
computer which encrypts the a new device -that would
voice signals at one end and spread the telephone signal on
decrypts them at the other, a microwave circuit over a
and it currently. in use in much wider bandwidth than Is
about 100 government offices, used in current equipment,
Although the "pilot" equip. making it more difficult to
ment now costs about $35,000 intercept.
for each unit, officials said ? Working with commercial
the government has ordered telephone companies to
comm MZ-OlAraVe and
nications ly technology.
that will make it easier for
telephone users ? desiring
privacy to encrypt they- tele-
phone 0a11s . and 'computer
data transmissions, and more
difficult for would-be- eaves-
droppers to locate calls from
8 particular telephone. -.: .
Promoting use-of.a data
encryption key. that can be
used to : encrypt computer
data before- it is transmitted
by - commercial .communica-
tions links. -.The key, .de-
veloped by the. Commerce De-
. partrnent, 13 now
commercially. available for
only $15.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/10: CIA-RDP88B01125R000300120020-9