I was not all that surprised by either the thread locking or the fact that my suspicions about some of these companies has come true.

They are all very badly need to stay in the good graces of the federal government and have very little reason to want to stick their necks out.

personally, since companies like IBM who have massive government software contracts took over the lion's share of the programming for the open source stuff, I am not convinced it is secure either.

Just because there is some means of vetting software does not mean anyone has actually done so. and it is so complex these days that it does not seem outside the realm of possibility that a well funded effort could sneak something in there.

I am also suspicious of all the motherboards made in China. What makes anyone think they are secure? What about all the firmware that runs just about every piece of electronic and computer related gear? its all made in China. is it even possible to vet that stuff?