The helicopter was made by Eurocopter

How German history helps modern spies

BERLIN (Reuters) Every time he goes into a meeting or discusses anything sensitive with colleagues, Andreas Blume places his mobile phone moncler outlet store inside moncler coats for men a small tin container. Blume, 38, an expert in intellectual property Official Moncler Outlet security at Evonik, a specialty chemicals maker in central Germany, has put the tins cheap moncler coats for women in every meeting room at the company main research centre.

The helicopter NH90 performs its first official flight during a presentation on the Eurocopter base, near Marignane airport, Southern France in this file photo. REUTERS/Jean Paul Pelissier/Files

moncler mens jackets just need a suitable biscuit tin to counter eavesdropping measures. About 50 percent moncler outlet online of freely available tins act as a perfect faraday cage, explains Blume. one can activate the microphone of your mobile cheap moncler jackets wholesale and listen in to what you say.

cheap moncler jackets Not every company in Germany is so careful. While Evonik and other German firms with expensive R labs routinely guard against corporate or industrial espionage, the vast majority of German companies and certainly most of the moncler outlet canada small and mid sized firms which form the backbone of Europe buy moncler jackets toronto largest economy give little thought to corporate moncler outlet woodbury spying.

cheap moncler moncler jackets mens outlet Such complacency exists in companies from Detroit to Dijon. But security officials and corporate executives say it is far more common in Germany because of an almost discount moncler jackets visceral distrust of security and spy agencies, rooted in memories of the Nazi Gestapo and Communist Stasi spy agencies. Most Germans, they say, shy away moncler coats outlet from any kind of surveillance and would rather keep quiet than report suspicions to an official. Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is worried that Russian and Chinese intelligence services target German corporations. moncler coats for kids The problem, according to the German interior ministry, could cost the country 20 50 billion euros a year.

cheap moncler sale CHINA MOVES IN Even when a German company does discover a problem, most usually squeal to a spy agency, said Berthold Stoppelkamp, head of the Working Group for Economic Security (ASW), a security think moncler jacket outlet tank set up by the Federation of German moncler jackets toronto Industries (BDI). For example, a German moncler jackets outlet on business in China who loses a work memory stick wouldn tend to think of informing the government about it: is not part of our value system.

The contrast with companies from the United States is telling. companies.

moncler outlet online and more whistle blowing systems have been set up since 2005 but scepticism among several companies is still huge, the PWC report said. Only 10 percent intended to set up such a system in the next two years while 76 percent said they were unlikely to do so. The most common reason to oppose one was concern it could promote a culture of fear and spying.

moncler sale Stoppelkamp working group has begun teaching German companies about the potential threats everything from a spy posing as an apprentice to a USB stick that could cheap moncler be used to smuggle out information. So far interest is poor. At a seminar on the topic for German high tech firms last year, fewer than 10 percent of those invited showed up.

cheap moncler coats Participants were told about threats from Chinese and Russian state intelligence networks as well as specific instances of Chinese spying backed by state agencies. They were given basic practical tips about business travel: pointers like take a different laptop, and don be seduced. Some executives said they were stunned that their companies could be at risk.

Of course, Western rivals could be snooping on German companies, but Berlin is particularly concerned about Russia and China. German intelligence agencies have discovered several cases in the past few years that had Chinese involvement, say security officials, adding that while the Russian focus is moncler jackets men on strategic information, the Chinese are mostly interested in collecting product information.

moncler outlet sale In one 2010 case, a Chinese national who had worked in a manufacturing plant information and then later burned this data on CDs, said a security official who is actively involved in ferreting out economic spies. also used USB sticks to siphon off data.

The official moncler coats sale believes that moncler jackets outlet online data ended moncler outlet usa up in China, although German intelligence can prove anything: suspect said he took the information to enhance his moncler jacket online career prospects. Chinese intelligence services prefer moncler jackets canada not to send people to Germany, but to tap Chinese nationals already in the country, the official added.

buy moncler jackets Another government security official, who has dealings with companies on how to beef up their security, said China had become more in spying than Russia in the past few years.

The person detailed another recent case of suspicious behaviour. A German research institute conducted a phone moncler coats for cheap interview with a job applicant in China. The potential employee gave a great interview and showed deep knowledge of his field. But when he arrived in Germany he performed terribly. Institute officials concluded they must have interviewed a different person from the one who arrived one targeting the research Discount Moncler Coats institute for its know how.

moncler outlet are many of these suspicious cases involving the Chinese, according to the person. moncler outlet we moncler outlet online store speak to the (German) companies and tell them some of the methods used, then these companies afterwards moncler coats would say, yes, that right that exactly what happened to us.

moncler outlet store THE EUROCOPTER moncler jackets cheap SCANDAL China may be more aggressive, but Moscow still packs a punch. Evidence of that came to light last year in one of moncler jackets on sale the most spectacular industrial espionage cases in Germany since World War Two.

The case focused on an Austrian army helicopter mechanic. Known as Harald S., he was accused of working as an agent for Russia secret service between 1997 and 2002. German prosecutors alleged moncler outlet ny that he passed moncler outlets usa documents on civilian helicopter technology to Russia foreign spy agency, SVR. The helicopter was made by Eurocopter, a division of cheap moncler jackets outlet European aerospace group EADS.

Prosecutors also said S. moncler outlet uk facilitated contact between Russian diplomat Vladimir Woschschow, who worked as a trade attache at Russia embassy in Vienna, and Werner G., a German engineer at Eurocopter plant in Ottobrunn, southeast of Munich.

moncler sale outlet S. had met G. in 1997 and the men discovered they had a few things in common, including a passion for flying and for rescue dogs. Testifying in Munich High District Court last year, G. said the Austrian had asked him for some harmless documents. Because they were freely available on the internet anyway, the German harboured no special suspicions about the request.

But moncler outlet location the Russian became more demanding, asking G. for details on the NH90, a multi purpose military helicopter moncler jackets for women designed for the NATO countries, and the anti tank helicopter Tiger, one of the most advanced combat helicopters.

Suspicious, G. approached the BfV and was later involved in a sting to catch the diplomat and S. The Austrian, whose lawyer said at the trial that knew made a huge mistake received a suspended sentence and was fined 4,139 euros. G. had received a suspended sentence in 2008.

Woschschow was not prosecuted because he had diplomatic immunity. moncler outlet kids A spokeswoman for Eurocopter cheap moncler jackets said at the time the case had caused no damage to the company.


Cracking such cases can be difficult in Germany because the country intelligence network was deliberately set up to avoid the creation of a single monolithic agency like the Nazi Gestapo or the Stasi in Communist East Germany.

all because of history. There is no strong centralised command, said Stoppelkamp.

cheap moncler That means the national BfV must work with 16 agencies one in every federal moncler outlet online state. They all coordinate with each other but also protect their own turf. States in the former West Germany have a tradition of swapping information between companies, industry bodies and the state intelligence agency; moncler coats for women those in the former East Germany are less inclined to moncler outlet mall share.

monlcer down jackets Three years ago the BfV expanded its economic espionage unit, realising that catching corporate spies is just as important as chasing terrorists.