Comment 3rd option: DoHS is dumb idiots (Score 1) 639
Slashdot previously had an article discussing pointless research (which was an interesting and surprisingly two side story). But...this "study" would be an example of said (truly) pointless research.
As soon as they had the hypothesis that people would pick up these sticks and put them in their computer the problem was exposed. Any real leadership would just have moved to solve this problem, rather than prove that it is indeed a problem. I would hope that the "security experts" at the DoHS would ponder than an outcome of 1% and an outcome of 99% would basically be the same problem and studying the particular location on this spectrum should bear little relationship to the need to address the problem.