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Crypto Switzerland NSA CIA BND Crypto International AG →
Hagelin cipher machines · 1950-2019
Crypto AG, also known as Hagelin Cryptos, Hagelin Crypto Company and
CAG, was a Swiss manufacturer of
cryptographic equipment,
headquartered in Steinhausen 1 (Switzerland). The company was founded
in 1952 2 by Boris Hagelin, and was the
successor to A.B. Cryptoteknik
in Stockholm (Sweden).
In 2018, Crypto AG's portfolio was taken over by
Crypto International AG, along with the
existing personnel and buildings. In 2019, the old Crypto AG was liquidated.
➤ History of Crypto AG
Crypto AG has often been accused of providing
backdoors to foreign intelligence services.
In 2014, the NSA revealed that
Hagelin indeed had a
gentleman's agreement
with them from 1951 onwards.
In 2020, it was revealed that from 1960, the company had a
licencing agreement with the CIA,
and that in 1970,
Crypto AG was purchased
by the German BND
and the American CIA.
From 1994 onwards the company was owned solely by the CIA
[11]. Crypto AG was liquidated in late 2019, after its portfolio
had been taken over by
Crypto International AG
in early 2018 [9].
On 3 July 2020, following actions by the Swiss Government,
Crypto Internal fired its entire staff [12].
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Near Zug.
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Actually, the company was founded in 1950, but did not become operational
until 1952.
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Hagelin machines on this website
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The model numbers of the early Hagelin machines are often related to the
year in which they were developed (e.g. the C-35 was developed in 1935).
Furthermore, the letter B is added before the model number if the unit
has a keyboard.
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The B-21 was the first cipher machine developed by Boris Hagelin.
He designed the machine in 1921 when he was working for the
Damm brothers in Sweden.
Physically, it resembles the Enigma machine
but internally it scrambles wires in a 5 x 5 matrix,
controlled by 4 pin-wheels.
The machine was thought to be more secure than the Enigma, but this
was not the case.
➤ More information
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The B-211 was developed by Boris Hagelin in 1923, especially
for the French Army. It was based on the B-21 but featured
a printer instead of the lamp panel. The machine was built
before and after WWII by L.M. Ericsson in Paris,
under licence by Hagelin.
This machine was also copied by the Russians, who gave it
a 5 x 6 matrix and named it K-37.
➤ More information
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The C-35 is the first fully mechanical pin-and-lug machine
developed by Hagelin. It is much smaller than later machines of
the same class and was initially developed for the French Army,
who wanted the machine to fit the pocket of the army trousers.
In November 2008 we had the opportunity to take some detailed
photographs of this machine from Crypto AG's private Hagelin collection.
➤ More information
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The C-36 is one of the first mechanical pin-and-lug machines
developed by Hagelin. It is larger than the C-35 and resembles
the M-209 in shape. Unlike the M-209, however, the tabs on
the metal bars inside the machine are not movable.
➤ More information
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The C-37 is one of the successors to the C-36.
It was manufactured for the French Navy by
L.M. Ericsson in Colombes
(France) under licence of Hagelin. The machine was also used
for French-British liaisons.
In September 2009 we had the opportunity to see a C-37
for the first time when it was shown by
GCHQ on the
Enigma Reunion 2009
at Bletchley Park.
➤ More information
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Based on the C-38, Hagelin developed the M-209 for the American
Army, shortly before WWII. It's a small compact mechanical machine
that remained in service until after the Vietnam War.
As the machine could be broken by the Germans in less than 4 hours,
it was only used for tactical field messages. The M-209 was built
under licence by Smith Corona in the USA.
➤ More information
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The BC-38 is in fact a C-38 with a keyboard and a motor.
It is compatible with the C-38 — and therefore also with the
American M-209 — and was used during
WWII by the American Army,
mainly in command centres.
A later version is known as the BC-543.
➤ More information
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The C-446 is a typical military Hagelin machine.
The machine shown here was used by the Dutch Navy and
was available in two versions: the standard C-446-A
and an C-446-RT. The latter used a Random Tape rather than coding wheels.
➤ More information
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Designed around 1952, the CX-52 is probably one Hagelin's most successful
mechanical cipher machines.
Numerous variants were developed, such as the standard CX-52,
an RT-version (Random Tape) and even an Arabic version.
The CX-52 was introduced in the early 1950s and remained in use
as a backup in some countries until the late 1990s.
➤ More information
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The TC-52 was an on-line cipher machine for teletype-based communication
systems (Telex), developed between 1954 and 1955 by Crypto AG
in Zug (Switzerland).
It was an improved version of the earlier T-52
machine (1951-1952) and was a hybrid between a wheel-based mechanical cipher
machine (i.e. an M-209
or C-38)
and a mixer machine.
➤ More information
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The BC-543 is a rather strange member of the Hagelin family. As the name
suggests, it was developed around 1954. It is, however, not based on the
C-52 that was developed two years earlier, but rather
on the BC-38 which in turn was based on the
C-38 a.k.a. M-209. The BC-543 is in fact functionally
identical to the BC-38 and differs only in minor details.
➤ More information
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The CD-57 is a portable machanical cipher machine that is small
enough to fit the pocket of a coat. It was introduced in 1957 and
was based on the design of the earlier CD-55.
It has 6 coding wheels and is crypto compatible with the
C-52.
The CD-57 was also built under licence by Hell as the STG-61.
➤ More information
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HX-63 was the only
rotor-based cipher machine,
made by Hagelin around 1963.
The machine is similar in design to the
American KL-7 that was used by
NATO, and uses some of the
same principles. It even interferes with a KL-7 patent.
The machine marks the transition between the mechanical and the electronic era,
and came too late to be successful.
Only 50 to 100 units were manufactured, 12 of which were ordered by the French Army.
➤ More information
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H-460 was the first electronic cipher machine of Crypto AG
that used shift-register technology. In was introduced
in 1970, and was re-released in 1972 with an extended model number,
such as H-4605, after a number of problems were fixed.
The cryptologic of the machine was developed by the NSA
and has an exploitable weakness, also known as a
backdoor,
that makes it readable.
➤ More information
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HC-570 was the first fully electronic cipher machine made by
Crypto AG, that featured microprocessor technology and in which the
algorithm was implemented in software.
The machine was partly developed by Motorola
and was a member of the CRYPTOMATIC family,
also known as the HC-500 series.
The cryptographic algorithm was develop by the NSA.
➤ More information
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HC-530 was the briefcase variant of the
HC-500 series (CRYPTOMATIC).
It was introduced around 1981 and was available in two version:
civil and military, supplied in a Samsonite briefcase
or a green military Haliburton-style case respectively.
The device was partly developed by Motorola
and features a cryptographic algorithm with an exploitable weakness,
developed by the NSA.
➤ More information
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In the mid-1970s, Crypto AG (Hagelin) developed a series of
voice crypto untits, aimed at both the civilian and military
market. This was called the CRYPTOCOM CRM-008 product line.
The CRM-008 was introduced in 1975 and was sold well into the
1990s.
This machine is sometimes identified as the Hagelin HC-230
(civilian version) or HC-235 (military version).
➤ More information
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CVX-396 is a true voice encryption device, introduced
in the late 1970s as the successor to the
CSE-280.
It is far more secure that a simple speech scrambler, at the expense of a
higher bandwidth, as a result of which it is only suitable for use
on VHF and UHF radio circuits.
A more secure variant – known as SVZ-B – was made for the Swiss Army.
It is likely that this version offers a higher level of security.
➤ More information
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HC-250 was a two-dimensional voice scrambler, also known as an
F/T speech scrambler,
that was intended for use on narrowband speech circuits, such as
analogue telephone and HF radio.
The device can be seen as the successor to the CRM-008,
and offers good quality speech, with no residual intelligible voice in the
channel.
➤ More information
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The CRYPTOVOX HC-3300 is a secure telephone set with digital encryption,
developed by Crypto AG in Switzerland in the early 1990s. It can be connected
to a PSTN line and is suitable for
voice, data and facsimile traffic. A smart-card is used for key distribution.
➤ More information
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The HC-3400 was an embedded encryption unit, implemented as a chip,
that could be built inside a communication device, such as a half-duplex
handheld FM/PM radio.
➤ More information
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The CRYPTOFAX HC-4220 was a fax encryptor developed by Crypto AG
in Switzerland in the early 1990s. It allowed facsimile messages to be sent
securely by any Group 3 fax unit via standard PSTN (analogue) telephone lines,
at speeds between 2400 and 14,400 baud.
The HC-4220 was available from 1994 until 2002 when it was replaced by
its successor the HC-4221, that is still available today (2011).
➤ More information
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The HC-2203 is a PSTN telephone encryptor.
It was introduced in the early 2000s, and
can be connected between any ordinary telephone set and an
analogue telephone line (PSTN).
It is compatible with the HC-24x3 secure GSM phone
and is still available from Crypto AG in Switzerland today (2011).
➤ More information
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The Cryptomatic HC-5000 series was the successor to the HC-500 series
and offered advanced cryptographic security in a variety of devices,
such as the HC-5200, HC-5300, HC-5500 and the
HC-5700.
The HC-5205 shown here is a customer-specific variant
of the HC-5200 and was made
especially for the Yugoslav armed forces.
➤ More information
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The SE-160 was a secure handheld FM/PM VHF/UHF radio, that was developed
and built by Ascom and sold by Crypto AG as a rebadged product.
The SE-160 features Crypto AG's own HC-3400 embedded speech encryption
unit.
The device is compatible with the Hagelin SE-580 portable radio and was also
sold by Ascom, Bosch
and Motorola.
➤ More information
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KED-3400 is a key entry device, or key filler, for
HC-3400 CRYPTOVOX compatible devices, such as the Ascom
SE-160
and SE-660 radios.
Keys can be entered manual via the keyboard, but can also
be generated automatically by the built-in random number
generator.
➤ More information
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This is a genuine Swiss Army Knife with the Hagelin logo
on its side. It was probably a promotional gift from Crypto AG.
Follow the link below to see more Hagelin-related items.
➤ Hagelin varia
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In the past, Crypto AG published its own full-colour magazine, which was
sent to customers around the world two or three times a year. These
magazines could also be downloaded from Crypto AG's website in a variety
of languages. With the demise of Crypto AG and its successor in 2020,
the website has largely become defunct and the house magazines are no longer
available.
Below is a list of Crypto Magazines of which we have a digital copy
available for download. You can help us to expand the list, by
sending us (digital) copies of any missing releases.
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Apart from the publicly available magazines listed above, Crypto AG
also regularly issued an internal magazine — Hauszeitung Der Insider — that was
available only to Crypto AG personnel. Please help us to expand this list
by sending us (digital) copies of any missing releases.
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- Company brochure
Crypto AG, Undated, but probably 1978. 24 pages.
- Company brochure, Top Services
Crypto AG, 1986. 8 pages.
- Company brochure, Crypto Products
Crypto AG, 1992. 8 pages.
- Vertraulich (company brochure, German)
Crypto AG, 1992. 18 pages.
- Total Information Security: Systeme, Produkte und Dienstleistungen.
Crypto AG, 2000.
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- Chiffriertechnik Heute
Vorlesung Krieg im Aether 1976/1977, ETH Zürich. 1
Lecture (German). Oskar Stüzinger, 1977.
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Retrieved from HAMFU History, December 2018.
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- Boris Hagelin, Die Geschichte der Hagelin-Cryptos
Original manuscript by Boris Hagelin in German language. Zug, Fall 1979.
- Boris Hagelin, The Story of Hagelin Cryptos
English translation of the above. BCW Hagelin, Zug, Spring 1981.
Later edited by David Kahn and published in Cryptologia, Volume 18, Issue 3, July 1994, pp 204-242.
- Hans Stadlin, 100 Jahre Boris Hagelin 1892-1992 (German)
Crypto AG. Crypto Hauszeitung Nr. 11. Jubilieumausgabe September 1992.
- Crypto AG, Crypto Magazine 2009, number 1
Retrieved August 2009.
- Crypto AG, Company brochure
Date unknown, but probably 1978. 24 pages.
- Crypto AG, Company brochure, Top Services
1986. 8 pages.
- Crypto AG, Company brochure, Crypto Products
1992. 8 pages.
- Crypto AG, Vertraulich (company brochure, German)
1992. 18 pages.
- Crypto AG, Crypto AG is gearing up for future growth
Steinhausen (Switzerland), 24 January 2018
- Crypto AG, Press release, background information
Steinhausen (Switzerland), 24 January 2018
- Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons, Operation RUBICON
Crypto Museum, 19 March 2020.
- Marcel Gyr, Crypto International enlässt fast die gesamte Belegschaft —
als Folge eines fragwürdigen Enscheids des Bundesrats
Neue Züricher Zeitung (NZZ), 3 July 2020.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Tuesday 04 August 2009. Last changed: Sunday, 22 December 2024 - 12:10 CET.
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