http://www.cfp99.org/program/papers/cukier.htm
"France reportedly has developed its own "Frenchelon" -- a worldwide network of spy satellites and listening stations that systematically eavesdrop on communications in the United States and elsewhere. Monitoring stations are said to exist in French Guiana, in the city of Domme in the Dordogne region of southwestern France, in New Caledonia, and in the United Arab Emirates. The information gleaned is reportedly used for both political and commercial ends. Additionally, some speculate that the French project may mark the first step in a pan-European effort to counterbalance the U.S.'s global spying capabilities. Germany is said to partially fund France's initiative in return for access to the information it collects."]
Sent with permission of John Young
From: John Young <jya@pipeline.com>
Subject: MS Funded/Founded by NSA?
A French intelligence report alleges that Microsoft was set up with NSA funding and that NSA imposed MS-DOS on IBM, and also alleges that NSA agents are now working at Microsoft:
http://cryptome.org/nsa-ms-spy.htm
The full confidential report has not been published and these allegations are made by an intelligence newsletter which claims to have seen it. The Age, an Australian newspaper, has reported on the topic today -- that account leads the file above.
The NSA MS key revelation appears in the reports, and may have prompted the intelligence investigation and speculation, along with the April 1999 report for Europarl, due to be considered by EuroParl in a week, which also warns of Microsoft's and Intel's possible cooperation with US intelligence to use Winte as a spying tool.
Still, we had not before seen an allegation that NSA was in on the gitgo with Microsoft and that DOS had been forced upon IBM. Is that old news or new, or merely a French counterattack on Echelon-like espionage?