Re:The NSA Is Hoarding Vulnerabilities
by liquidise on Friday August 26, 2016 @09:27AM
(#12366028)
> The reality is that these systems would have been just as insecure had the NSA never scrutinized them
In theory, sure. In practice, this is false. When the NSA finds a vulnerability it can exploit there is information created. As Snowden and the recent hack confirm: data is prone to leaking. Once data leaks, the systems that NSA attacks are fundamentally and operationally less secure than they would be had the NSA not attacked them. This is the very reason it is important that zero-days are reported and fixed.
In theory, sure. In practice, this is false. When the NSA finds a vulnerability it can exploit there is information created. As Snowden and the recent hack confirm: data is prone to leaking. Once data leaks, the systems that NSA attacks are fundamentally and operationally less secure than they would be had the NSA not attacked them. This is the very reason it is important that zero-days are reported and fixed.