""" IBM referred to a 2014 statement saying that the company does not provide "software source code or encryption keys to the NSA or any other government agency for the purpose of accessing client data."
A spokesperson ... did not comment further on whether source code had been handed over to a government agency for any other reason. """
I'm glad the author pressed them further ("for any other reason"). So many times we see such statements like this from companies but nobody bothers to ask the obvious (to me) follow-up question.
Well, the obvious one is that IBM Federal Systems does an enormous amount of system-building (including programming) for the Federal government. I would presume that the Feds get the code for every one of those contracts. There are probably others.
Trying to list all the circumstances when the Feds get IBM source code, without having it look like the Feds just get everything, might be problematic...
I assure the Feds don 'think get the source code. Vast swaths of leadership in government are unaware there is a difference between compiled code and source.
A spokesperson ... did not comment further on whether source code had been handed over to a government agency for any other reason. """
I'm glad the author pressed them further ("for any other reason"). So many times we see such statements like this from companies but nobody bothers to ask the obvious (to me) follow-up question.