[Cryptography] Shadow Brokers :: powerful NSA hacking tools leaked

[Jerry Leichter]

> It looks to me like the NSA's pet lion got away.
> 
> Maybe they will exhibit some sense of responsibility and common
> decency, and immediately release patches so everybody can defend
> against the depredations of their escaped lion.
Of course, in the wilderness of mirrors that is the NSA and spycraft, you can always imagine a deeper level:  These are three (and more) year old tools that the NSA has since moved beyond, using exploits that others have since found and are beginning to use.  So it's time to leak and burn the old techniques, letting the old exploits be patched, and leaving the NSA way out front.

Sure, they could have just told the vendors about the exploits directly, but you can surely imagine a whole bunch of movie-script reasons why they might go with a more spectacular approach....
                                                        -- Jerry