Does computer worm "stuxnet" attack Iranian Nuclear Program?

[Jan Klimkowski]

A rather large company/multinational, at that: Siemens AG is a German engineering conglomerate that is the largest in Europe.[3] Siemens' international headquarters are located in Berlin, Munich and Erlangen, Germany. The company has three main business sectors: Industry, Energy, and Healthcare; with a total of 15 divisions. Worldwide Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 420,800 people in nearly 190 countries and reported global revenue of 76.651 billion euros for the year of 2009. tickyman:

Peter - yup.

In addition, Siemens must have its own industrial espionage goons.

Indeed, I have zero sympathy for Siemens.

Like every big multinational, links to state and private spy networks have long been alleged.

In the C20th:

MI5 feared Siemens staff had Nazi spy links during WWII

By Kayte Rath

The file contained a diagram published in US magazine PM suggesting how companies could be linked to the Third Reich Employees of the German company Siemens were investigated for espionage by MI5, it has been revealed.

MI5 feared the company, which had branches all over the world, was assisting the Nazi regime in its foreign policy and war objectives.

The files, released by MI5, can be seen at the National Archives in Kew.

British intelligence feared German companies operating in the UK or abroad, particularly in the British Empire, could be used by the German government as part of its broader foreign policy and war effort.

By 1936 the Nazi regime had made it clear "every German man and woman must render service to the Fatherland in time of war and that Germans who live abroad, including those of dual nationality, are bound to serve when called up".

The files show a number of investigations were ordered into individual employees of Siemens, a German industrial conglomerate.

Some of these were requested by Lord Rothschild, who was head of the counter-sabotage unit at MI5 at the time.

'Rabid Nazi cell'

In the run up to World War II, MI5 was concerned about Siemens' operations in the UK.

One branch of the company, Siemens Schukert, which had factories in Ealing and Acton in west London, was described in the files as "a rabid Nazi cell".

There were suspicions that German employees of the firm were involved in intelligence work.

Engineers were said to continually travel around the UK but "no-one knew where they went".

The British branch of the firm was closed down following the start of the war under the 1939 Trading with the Enemy Act.

'Clandestine'

Siemens first came to the attention of MI5 during World War I following an anonymous letter from Chile.

It described how Britons living in Antofagasta in Chile believed the company had a "clandestine wireless installation".

Suspicious activity was also reported in Siemens branches in Georgia, Spain, Switzerland, Egypt, Panama and Argentina during World War I.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11081786

And in the C21st:

Siemens Worked With German Intelligence Agency
By Patrick Donahue, Bloomberg 12/4/08
Apr 14, 2008 - 9:14:32 AM

Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, had a representative on the management board, Spiegel cited unidentified former managers as saying. The BND used Siemens's communication technology for espionage purposes, while the Munich-based company became the spy agency's top supplier.


The BND's role in Siemens could mean it has knowledge of access codes the company uses to conduct maintenance work on communications systems, Spiegel said. Siemens engineers also gain exposure to construction sites that aren't visible by U.S. satellite photography, according to the magazine.

Siemens supplies surveillance and wiretap technology to countries such as Russia, Egypt and Oman. Intelligence specialists within Siemens worked at ICM Voice & Data Recording, on a site separate from the company's headquarters, Spiegel said.

Siemens spokesman Andreas Schwab declined to comment on the report. The BND didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment that was left on the press department's answering machine. The government's main press department couldn't supply any additional phone numbers when contacted by Bloomberg.

http://www.ocnus.net/artman2/publish/Dar...ency.shtml