Airbus Looks To Sue NSA Amidst Spying Allegations

Airbus is filing a lawsuit against the National Security Agency (NSA) following accusations that the US spy group stole blueprints from the plane-maker.

Reports from Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine said that Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), collected data on Airbus and other European firms following requests from the NSA.

Alarmed

Speaking to AFP, an Airbus spokesperson said: “We are aware that as a large company in the sector, we are a target and subject of espionage.”

“However, in this case we are alarmed because there is concrete suspicion of industrial espionage. We will now file a criminal complaint against persons unknown on suspicion of industrial espionage.”

The lawsuit threat follows accusations in the German press that the BND has been spying on German and European companies for the US since 2008. The German press named Airbus as one of the targeted companies, alleging that the BND had listened in on online and telephone communication channels to gather information. German press also alleged that the BND has been spying on France’s presidential palace, as well as the European Commission.

Der Spiegel Online reported that the BND used a listening station in Bavaria to spy on up to 2,000 European firms.

This week, Airbus also reported its first quarter revenues, revealing that profits had slipped and orders for its aircraft were down.

Group revenues were down five percent to £8.8 billion in the first three months compared to the same period last year.

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