According to a report from Danmarks Radio on the 15th, the US National Security Agency (NSA) used the top-secret intelligence cooperation project between Denmark and the United States to purposefully monitor Danish government agencies, private companies and even Denmark’s neighboring countries.
These surprising conclusions are based on a series of strictly confidential reports submitted by an internal whistleblower in the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency (FE) in 2015.
According to the report, the U.S. National Security Agency abused its intelligence cooperation with Denmark and reported suspected illegal espionage against Denmark. While collecting a large number of private data and information on all communication cables passing through Denmark, it also accused the Danish government. Institutions and enterprises implement monitoring. A source familiar with the report revealed to Danish Broadcasting that these targets monitored by the United States include the Danish Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the military industrial company Terma located in the Danish city of Aarhus.
Related sources also said that in addition to the United States’ espionage activities against Denmark, the US National Security Agency also espionage activities against Denmark’s closest neighbors, including Sweden.
One of the first to bear the brunt is Sweden, which has been actively cooperating with the US government to block Chinese communications technology company Huawei and its 5G network technology. Followed by Germany, France, Norway and even the Netherlands.
As for the reasons for the US espionage against Denmark and these neighboring countries, from the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s report, it is related to the arms trade.
A source told the media as an example that between 2015 and 2016, Denmark is preparing to buy new fighters worth billions of dollars to replace the aging F-16 fighters. At that time, the Eurofighter jointly developed by several European countries and the Swedish Saab Gripen fighter participated in the bidding for the purchase of new fighter jets in Denmark, and these bidding processes have continued for decades and have entered the final stage. . However, the US National Security Agency used the surveillance system created by the cooperation between Denmark and the United States to conduct suspected illegal intelligence collection on these European and Swedish corporate information. Denmark ultimately chose the American F-35 fighter.
In addition, the US National Security Agency has also conducted a suspected illegal intelligence search on a company and employees in Denmark called Terma that provided parts to the F-35. According to a report by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, the National Security Agency, through an advanced spying system called XKeyscore, can obtain private information from the Internet that ordinary people simply cannot obtain, such as email details, browser history, and Internet chat history. , And even who is calling whom and so on.
However, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation is unable to determine what information the US National Security Agency is looking for or how the US intelligence agencies will use this information about fighter companies. The Danish Broadcasting Corporation has not been able to determine whether the management of the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency took any action based on the whistleblower’s report, because the relevant parties refused to discuss the matter.
However, the media pointed out that the report written by the whistleblower who reported the incident included how the US National Security Agency used Xkeyscore to monitor Danish targets and Denmark’s neighbors.
The Danish Broadcasting Corporation said that both the US National Security Agency and the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency can use the Xkeyscore system to search and select all the massive amounts of data in the network communication cables passing through Denmark. These data are stored in a data center established by the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency to help the United States. It is reported that some communication information between China and Russia may also pass through Denmark, which puts it at risk of being stolen by the United States.
(The “Prism Gate” project of the US National Security Agency, which was exposed by the US Department of Defense outsourcer Snowden many years ago, also involved the Xkeyscore spy system. The picture shows how the British Guardian reported how the system monitors and steals global network data. Of privacy data)
Two top experts in this field interviewed by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation stated that if the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency gives the US some authority or otherwise makes it possible for the Americans to monitor key Danish institutions and military industries, then this is obviously related to the establishment of Denmark. The purpose of the Defense Intelligence Agency runs counter to.
Jens Elo Rytter, professor of constitutional studies at the University of Copenhagen, was even more shocked by the situation in an interview with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. He said that the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency (FE) was supposed to work with the Danish Security and Intelligence Agency (PET) to protect Denmark, but the former was assisting the United States in undermining national security in Denmark’s own interests.
Jorn Vestergaard, professor emeritus of criminal law at the University of Copenhagen, said that under Danish law, foreign intelligence agencies cannot monitor Danish targets, spy on Danish military intelligence or politically sensitive information.
The Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s report pointed out that this new news added new inside information to the previous case of alleged illegal activities by the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency. In August of this year, the Danish authorities issued a press release in which they severely criticized the Danish Defense Intelligence Agency and started an investigation. The Danish Broadcasting Corporation had previously revealed that it was the top-secret intelligence cooperation project with the US National Security Agency that made the Danish regulators issue this severe criticism in August this year.
Some experts say that the exposure of this new news may make relations between Denmark and its neighbors strained.
Of course, this is not the first time that the US government has been exposed to monitoring its allies in Europe. The “Prism Gate” project exposed by the US Department of Defense contractor Snowden that year is one of the most typical cases. It’s just that this can’t help but make people wonder whether it’s because the United States’ penetration and “control” of these European countries has gone deep into the bones of the bones that made a Chinese civil communications company that wanted to expand in Europe to be so crazy by the United States. Banned? After all, once China’s technology is used, the United States will no longer be able to monitor its allies so casually, right?
Finally, it is worth mentioning that according to a report by British Reuters, French President Macron said in a speech recently that Europe needs an independent sovereign defense strategy and needs to build its own autonomous capabilities, “just like China and the United States. . His remarks should not be groundless.
