According to a recent news story, the National Security Agency paid RSA, a major provider of encryption software, ten million dollars to promote a version of its software which the NSA could crack. Assuming the story is true, it would seem to put RSA at risk of being sued for deliberately selling its customers a product it knew to be defective.
"But several (RSA employees) said that RSA also was misled by government officials, who portrayed the formula as a secure technological advance."
It is hard to see why NSA would have to pay RSA to use more secure technology, hence equally hard to believe the claim.
It should also put RSA at risk of prosecution for criminal fraud, fraud being both a crime and a tort. But not much risk, since criminal prosecution is controlled by the government, the same organization a different branch of which, assuming the story is correct, bribed RSA to sell a deliberately crippled product.
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