Senin, 14 Januari 2019

The Hotline Betwixt Washington In Addition To The Quondam German Majuscule Bonn

(Updated: Dec 1, 2018)

Today, it's the German Unity Day or Tag der Deutschen Einheit, which commemorates the anniversary of the reunification of East in addition to West Deutschland inwards 1990.

In recent years, Germany's human relationship amongst the U.S.A. of America had around tough times after it was revealed that chancellor Angela Merkel had been on an NSA targeting list, in addition to a 3-year parliamentary inquiry showed a unopen cooperation betwixt the NSA in addition to the German linguistic communication unusual intelligence way BND.

One part of the human relationship betwixt Deutschland in addition to the US that was never reported before, is the existance of a hotline betwixt the White House in addition to the business office of the German linguistic communication chancellor. Described for the starting fourth dimension time is also the telephone equipment that was used for this form of overstep flat communications links.





 

Origins

The hotline (German: heißer Draht) betwixt Washington in addition to Bonn was established on Marz 16, 1962, after German linguistic communication chancellor Konrad Adenauer had met US president John Kennedy inwards Washington inwards Nov 1961. Apparently it was Kennedy who came upwards amongst the idea, perchance inspired yesteryear the secure telephone delineate amongst the British prime number government minister that already existed since World War II. The famous hotline betwixt Washington in addition to Moscow was established to a greater extent than than a twelvemonth later, inwards August 1963.

In Oct 1966, the paper General Anzeiger reported that likewise their initial call, Kennedy in addition to Adenauer never used the hotline, in addition to that at the American embassy, no i was aware of this telephone link.

This had led to the unusual province of affairs that on September 27, 1966, chancellor Ludwig Erhard in addition to US president Lyndon Johnson, unaware of the hotline established nether Kennedy, also agreed to prepare a straight telephone delineate betwixt the White House in addition to Palais Schaumburg, which was the German linguistic communication chancellor's business office (Kanzleramt) from 1949 till 1976.

After the press had reported most this agreement, Adenauer said that such a hotline already existed: he had used it for iv years in addition to had calls amongst Kennedy quite frequently. Multiple regime spokesmen in addition to so claimed that the one-time chancellor was wrong, until an eye-witness was found who lastly confirmed what Adenauer had said.

It's non clear how often Erhard in addition to Johnson used the hotline: i source says they used it several times, around other i that it was never used, neither yesteryear Johnson in addition to Erhard, nor yesteryear Johnson in addition to Kurt Georg Kiesinger, who succeeded Erhard inwards Dec 1966.* Under Adenauer in addition to Erhard, the hotline consisted of a normal telephone delineate without encryption.


Secure teletype

In March 1969, US president Nixon offered chancellor Kiesinger to prepare a secure teletype link betwixt the White House in addition to Palais Schaumburg. Were they i time again unaware of the before hotline, or was an encrypted link considered to a greater extent than secure? In those days it was much easier to encrypt teletype messages than a telephone channel.

We don't know whether this secure link was genuinely established in addition to what equipment was used, but if so, it in all probability consisted of the same devices used for the hotline betwixt Washington in addition to Moscow: a touchstone teleprinter made yesteryear Teletype Corp. amongst the encryption beingness performed yesteryear an Electronic Teleprinter Cryptographic Regenerative Repeater Mixer II (ETCRRM II, encounter photo).

The ETCRRM II used the Vernam flow cipher, inwards which the apparently text message is mixed amongst a random flow of information of the same length to generate the ciphertext. If used correctly, this method has been proved to live unbreakable.


There are no reports or other sources that advert the hotline betwixt Bonn in addition to Washington after 1969. But a unopen await at around photos of the chancellor's business office present dedicated American telephone sets that enable a straight in addition to secure communications link amongst the White House.
 


STU-I telephone

The secure teletype hotline was replaced yesteryear a secure telephone link, in all probability yesteryear the halt of the 1970s, after the German linguistic communication chancellor had moved his business office to the newly built Federal Chancellery inwards 1976. This modern, night brownish business office edifice amongst lots of drinking glass is located nigh the Rhine, right following to Palais Schaumburg.



Office of chancellor Helmut Kohl inwards the Kanzleramt edifice inwards Bonn, 1985
(photo: Archiv Friedrich/Interfoto - click to enlarge)


On the shelf beneath the ikon on the right side of the wall nosotros encounter ii telephone sets: at the left a mutual greyness telephone without rotary dial, which was in all probability part of a dedicated telephone network for regime (Bonner Behördennetz?) or armed services communications. On the right there's a touchstone American telephone laid amongst around additional buttons, which tin live recognized equally the STU-I secure telephone:




The STU-I was developed yesteryear the NSA in addition to introduced inwards 1977. It was the starting fourth dimension secure telephone organisation that used a key Key Distribution Center (KDC), equally good equally Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) for amend phonation communication quality. Encryption was conducted through the (classified) SAVILLE algorithm, which was developed inwards the belatedly 1960s yesteryear GCHQ inwards cooperation amongst NSA for cryptographic devices used yesteryear NATO in addition to NATO countries.

It was intended that STU-I would live equally compact equally possible, but inwards the halt it became a organisation that consisted of ii units: a converted Western Electric telephone laid equally phonation in addition to command terminal, in addition to the actual encryption unit of measurement which notwithstanding had the size of a pocket-size refrigerator. Therefore it was often placed inwards an side yesteryear side room, amongst a thick greyness cable leading to the phonation terminal. The cost of i STU-I organisation was 35.000,- US Dollar.



STU-I phonation in addition to command terminal
(photo: Cryptomuseum.com)



In the US, the STU-I organisation was replaced yesteryear the STU-II in addition to inwards 1987, NSA introduced the STU-III. This one-piece secure telephone became rattling successful in addition to widely used throughout the US regime in addition to military. For usage yesteryear NATO forces in addition to governments of friendly nations in that location was a modified version designated STU-II/B.

It seems that for the hotline amongst Bonn though, the old STU-I was kept operational, equally its phonation terminal tin notwithstanding live recognized inwards this movie of Helmut Kohl's business office inwards 1991:



Office of chancellor Helmut Kohl inwards the Kanzleramt edifice inwards Bonn, 1991
(photo: movie alliance/Ulrich Baumg - click to enlarge)

Update:

Below is a photograph of chancellor Kohl's business office inwards 1989, inwards which nosotros encounter that the STU-I telephone had been replaced yesteryear its successor, the STU-II. It's non clear how that relates to the previous movie from 1991 inwards which nosotros encounter the old STU-I: perchance the dates of the photos are non correct, or the STU-II didn't business office good in addition to the STU-I was lay back.



Office of chancellor Helmut Kohl inwards the Kanzleramt edifice inwards Bonn, 1989
(photo: imago stock&people - click to enlarge)
 


IST telephone

Eventually, the hotline betwixt Bonn in addition to Washington did larn an upgrade, in addition to the STU-I was replaced yesteryear the Integrated Services Telephone (IST). Unlike the STU phones, which are able to encrypt the phonation good themselves, the IST has no encryption capability. Instead, it is connected to a key switch, which separates secure in addition to non-secure traffic, after which the secure traffic is encrypted inwards mass yesteryear a network encryptor.

On the far right of this photograph of the chancellor's office, nosotros tin recognize an IST telephone on almost the same spot equally where the STU-I telephone laid was:



Guided tour inwards the chancellor's business office inwards the Kanzleramt edifice inwards Bonn, 1999
(photo: Wikimedia Commons/Ziko-C - click to enlarge)


The telephone nosotros encounter hither is most one-half the size of the touchstone IST: instead of the forty straight delineate buttons, in that location are exactly 6, replacing around of the especial business office buttons inwards a higher house the AUTOVON keypad amongst the iv ruby keys for the Multilevel Precedence in addition to Preemption (MLPP) function:




The IST was designed yesteryear Electrospace Systems Inc. (ESI) in addition to manufactured yesteryear Raytheon equally a dedicated device for the Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN) - thus it was called a "red phone". The DRSN is the principal secure telephone network for armed services command in addition to command communications in addition to connects all mayor US command centers in addition to many other armed services facilities.

The pocket-size version of the IST is rarely seen, but it was inwards the collection of the JKL Museum of Telephony inwards Mountain Ranch, California, which unfortunately was completely destroyed yesteryear a wildfire ii years ago:



The pocket-size version of the IST displayed
inwards the JKL Museum of Telephony



It is interesting to encounter that a secure telephone organisation that was developed for the internal communications of the U.S.A. of America armed services was also used for links to unusual regime leaders. For this purpose the pocket-size IST telephone was exclusively seen at the German linguistic communication Chancellery, equally good equally inwards the office of British prime number government minister Tony Blair inwards 2003 - exactly similar in that location was also an STU-I inwards the office of Margaret Thatcher inwards 1987.


Besides the hotline amongst Washington, in that location was a straight facsimile communications link betwixt Bonn in addition to Moscow, which was established inwards 1989.* The Soviet Union also had a hotline amongst Erich Honecker equally leader of the one-time East-German Republic (DDR) in addition to during a curt catamenia before East in addition to West Deutschland were united inwards 1991, in that location was a hotline betwixt Honecker in addition to Helmut Kohl.*

 

Berlin

On Oct 3, 1990, East in addition to West Deutschland were reunited in addition to it was decided to arrive at Berlin the working capital alphabetic character again. After beingness elected chancellor belatedly 1998, Gerhard Schröder moved to Berlin inwards 1999 in addition to occupied the arrive at novel Chancellery building inwards May 2001. With over 300 business office rooms, this is said to live the largest regime headquarters edifice inwards the world.

There are several pictures available of the chancellor's business office inwards the Berlin Kanzleramt building, but no i inwards which equipment for the hotline tin live recognized. If this telephone link is notwithstanding operational, it volition live part of the "Head of State network", which is used yesteryear the US president to communicate amongst unusual leaders in addition to was tried to eavesdrop on chancellor Merkel's non-secure prison theatre mobile telephone phone. This target was laid inwards 2002, when Merkel was CDU political party leader in addition to because in addition to so Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder refused to bring together the US inwards the state of war against Iraq, the US regime was in all probability interested inwards knowing the seat of his principal political opponent.

Although Merkel was an obvious espionage target, the fact that the Americans did so too made her angry: "Spying amid friends - that exactly isn’t done." She expressed this to president Obama inwards a telephone telephone call back on Oct 23, 2013 in addition to already on July 3, she had talked to him most the Snowden-revelations most Germany. It's non known whether these calls were made using the hotline of the Heads of State network.

This would convey been rather ironic, but also typical for the footing of espionage in addition to signals intelligence, that on i hand, NSA tried to eavesdrop on chancellor Merkels prison theatre mobile telephone phone, piece on the other hand, the US provided highly encrypted equipment for the hotline betwixt both countries.



Links in addition to sources
- Der Westen: Diplomatie am Telefon - Der kurze Draht der Mächtigen
- Telefon Forum: Helmut Kohls Telefone

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar