I don’t disagree that there was a hefty intimidation factor here, but consider that:
- the NSA (et al) have actively worked to weaken internet security
- they’ve also assembled a bewildering array of hardware hacks and backdoors
This makes me wonder if there wasn’t some degree of genuine concern about information getting out because of something they knew about that specific machine.
One of the problems with the whole NSA/Snowden story is that it’s a lot harder to calibrate your paranoia meter than it used to be…
