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+---
+tags:
+  - Organization
+  - Private
+  - Technology
+  - Israel
+---
+[[Degem]] was an [[Israel|Israeli]]-owned computer business with operations in [[Israel]], [[Guatemala]], and [[Transkei]] (a Bantustan "homeland" controlled by [[South Africa]]). It was initially controlled by [[Israel|Israel]]'s military intelligence and provided computer services to the [[South Africa|South Africans]] and to [[Guatemala]].[^1]
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+[[Robert Maxwell]] took over [[Degem]] after its previous owner, [[Yaacov Meridor]], faced a scandal. Maxwell acquired [[Degem]] with the intention of using it to market the [[PROMIS]] software, distancing himself personally from the spy project. Through [[Degem]], Maxwell sold [[PROMIS]] to the [[East Bloc]] and other countries, including [[Brazil]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], and [[Nicaragua]]. An abridged version of [[PROMIS]], including the trap door, was also sold by [[Degem]] to [[Credit Suisse]] in 1985. [[Degem]] even sold [[PROMIS]] to the [[Soviet Union]] in the late 1980s, with [[Robert Gates]] lifting export barriers for [[IBM]] computers to the Soviets, which were then fitted with the trap-doored [[PROMIS]] by [[Degem]] technicians.[^1]
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+In [[Guatemala]], [[Degem]], through [[Manfred Herrmann|Herrmann's]] [[Sedra]] company, moved into offices, railway stations, and airports, and set up terminals at remote roadblocks, contributing to a system that tracked suspected dissidents. In [[Transkei]], [[Degem]] was instrumental in implementing [[PROMIS]] as a "killing machine" against black revolutionary groups, including the [[African National Congress]], by providing information that led to the disappearance or maiming of activists.[^1]
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+### Footnotes
+[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War")