It isn't about HBGary being competent or not, its about whether or not they were able to fulfill the letter of their contracted terms. If the FBI believes that

It isn't about HBGary being competent or not, its about whether or not they were able to fulfill the letter of their contracted terms. If the FBI believes that the company can still fulfill its contract terms, and in a lot of situations that comes down to providing the requisite documentation showing sufficient protocols in place, then the FBI will continue to work with HBGary. Much greater incompetence has been rewarded by the government bureaucracy than poorly picked passwords.