The Type writer: Germany’s tool against espionage

The Type writer: Germany’s tool against espionage

Posted by Sylvester on Saturday, July 19, 2014 0

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With the world cup under its belt, Germany seems to be leading the world in sports. But its anti-high-tech spy technology isn’t what many other countries would copy in a hurry.

To combat an ongoing espionage problem the country is reportedly having with the United States, the German Government might simply return to using the trusty old typewriter.

In an interview with an international television service, Patrick Sensburg, a politician in charge of a parliamentary inquiry into US spying in Germany said that the government was seriously considering a low-tech solution to the ongoing espionage problem, according to the British media. When Sensburg was asked whether the German Government was considering typewriters, he replied: “As a matter of fact, we have – and not electronic models either.”

“Really?” the surprised interviewer checked.
“Yes, no joke,” Sensburg responded.

Last week, Germany asked the station chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, to leave the country after German investigators uncovered alleged spying operations, at a time when many Germans are still angry over the exposure last year of widespread US surveillance programs whose targets included Chancellor Angela Merkel.

After former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden released the first of his revelations about the US government’s surveillance activities, Russia said that it would also revert to the typewriter.

Will Germany truly dump computers for the typewriter? That is difficult to say. But whether or not this will end international spying is a whole different kettle of fish. As one U.S intelligence expert put it: ‘Before computers, spying was done the old-fashioned way – and there’s no reason why it can’t be done that way again.’