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Sweden detains 3 for spying on Ericsson
By Reuters
06/11/2002
STOCKHOLM, - Swedish police have detained three Swedes on charges of industrial espionage against telecoms equipment giant Ericsson, police said on Wednesday.
"The ringleader is suspected of passing secret documents of a Swedish company to a foreign intelligence service for some time," the police said in a statement.
"The detention of the main suspect took place as he was meeting a foreign intelligence officer."
Telefon AB LM Ericsson, the world's biggest producer of mobile networks, said in a statement that the three people detained were either employees or former employees.
"We cannot disclose what kind of information has been handed over," Ericsson spokesman Henry Stenson said in a statement.
"Our opinion today is that the damage is limited. Thanks to the timely handling the deliveries were stopped. Besides the three individuals did not hold any key positions."
The other two people involved in the case are charged with helping the ringleader obtain the secret information.
"It is impossible to estimate today what consequences the handover of the secret documents to a foreign power can have for Swedish security," the police statement said.
Police said the intensive investigation was in a sensitive phase and they could not give any further information at this stage, including naming the country involved. Ericsson's Stenson declined to say if the former employee or employees involved had been among those the loss-making company had recently laid off as part of a cost-cutting package which is intended to put the firm back in the black some time in 2003.
Stenson also declined to say which foreign power was involved in the espionage or which unit of Ericsson the leaked documents came from.
As well as telecoms equipment, Ericsson does defence work and its Microwave unit is involved in developing missile and radar systems for planes such as the JAS 39 Gripen fighter jet.
Original article appeared at Reuters
Links:
Ericsson Press Release
Australian IT news article
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