Chipmaker Gemalto probes report of hacking by US, UK spies

Gemalto, a high-tech firm which has a facility in Montgomery County, said Friday it was investigating a report U.S. and British spy agencies had hacked its systems to steal the privacy-protecting encryption keys in the chips it makes for mobile phones.

Citing documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the report said the hack allowed the agencies to monitor a large portion of voice and data mobile communications around the world without permission from governments and telecom companies.

Gemalto's shares sank as much as 10 percent in huge volumes in early trading after the news website Intercept reported the hack by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

"We take this publication very seriously and will devote all resources necessary to fully investigate and understand the scope of such sophisticated techniques," the Franco-Dutch company said in a statement.

Gemalto has a manufacturing facility and warehouse in Montgomeryville, Pa.

The hack by the NSA and GCHQ allowed the agencies to monitor a large portion of voice and data mobile communications around the world without permission from governments and telecom companies, according to the Intercept report.

The breach was detailed in a secret 2010 GCHQ document, Intercept said.

Gemalto makes smart chips for mobile phones, bank cards and biometric passports and counts Verizon, AT&T Inc. and Vodafone among its 450 wireless network provider customers around the world.

Gemalto officials declined further comment on Friday but in an e-mailed statement earlier a spokeswoman said: "From what we gathered at this moment, the was not Gemalto, per se -- it was an attempt to try and cast the widest net possible to reach as many mobile phones as possible".

A spokesperson for Britain's GCHQ said the agency did not comment on intelligence matters. NSA could not be immediately reached for comment.

Published by First Look Media, Intercept was founded by U.S. documentary maker Laura Poitras, investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald, who made headlines with his reporting on U.S. electronic surveillance programs.