Re:It IS a big deal. Because... (Score 2, Interesting)

The whole question of security bugs included intentionally in software reminds me of the Inslaw case, in which the federal government took a piece of software which they pirated from a contractor (who they put out of business), and hacked it up to include a back door. This software was written to track the complicated web of relationships between the sort of people intelligence agencies work with/against (depending on the phase of the moon and the particular situation). They sold this software to friendly (And probably not so friendly) intelligence agencies world-wide, using the back door to suck out information from their customers databases.

Pretty cool hack. (a technical judgement independent on the morality of the entire affair).

So the government has dealt in intentionally insecure software in the past, and they will probably do so in the future.

Personally, I think with a real warrant (none of this no-burden-of-proof "judicial certification" which the PATRIOT act institutes") this is a fine tactic. It's essentially the same as a wiretap.

Obviously, mass distribution of weakened software to the public or to anyone whom there is no probable cause to suspect is completely unacceptable.