They did accomplish a good thing (preventing MITM attacks on firmware updates) as a side effect of doing something stupid (preventing users from flashing OSS).

They did accomplish a good thing (preventing MITM attacks on firmware updates) as a side effect of doing something stupid (preventing users from flashing OSS). The right way to prevent MITM attacks would have been via HTTPS and PGP signatures that users are expected to verify when doing manual updates and is only verified automatically by auto-update mechanisms. Sadly, what was done was motivated by reasons that have nothing to do with security and consequently, is making equipment less secure.