I really think that's a distinction without a difference. For all intents and purposes, they spied on google. If you consider the fact that Google considers con

I really think that's a distinction without a difference. For all intents and purposes, they spied on google. If you consider the fact that Google considers consumers to be more product than client, the distinction matters even less. But to your other point: This is the NSA's mission statement: The National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS) leads the U.S. Government in cryptology that encompasses both Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) and Information Assurance (IA) products and services, and enables Computer Network Operations (CNO) in order to gain a decision advantage for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances. And again, considering that HT sold weaponized crypto to non-allied countries, it's by definition "interesting" intelligence (in relation to the NSA). Also, I'm quite sure that the language in that statement indicates more of an offensive role than defensive, since that's usually what "advantage" signifies. Even if their purpose was defense, the way our Government is set up, it's defense of the government, not the governed, so you can't say with any confidence that they didn't patch internal systems that mattered to them.