I agree in terms of results and like them. Yet, I'll ask you since you're still in industry: "Wouldn't it be cheaper if they got hackers in Germany like close to Berlin? And not be operating in a police state with secret courts and such?" The latter is ironic given Germany's history.

Legal aside, I've seen plenty of folks over there putting together OS's, VPN's, cryptophones, etc. Most doing heavy lifting don't make SF wages or have office costs that high. Plus, one could poach some veterans in PKI from one of the big security companies. At least one of them. I doubt it's the only such place given all the country names in my files on cutting-edge research.