[Zigurd]

This is what should be the central point of the discussion here. NSA treats it's informants about as badly as some hick county sherriff does to drug snitches. Except the stakes are $100s of billions in revenue from sovereign governments and economic competitors who would prefer not to just bend over for getting back-doored.

The other side of the coin is that the companies collaborating in these programs seem to put themselves at the mercy of the government rather than making products that can be verifiably trusted.