I get it, the gov has a hard problem to solve. It's a case of both of them being right - the gov needs a common level of gradable security applied, and these fo

I get it, the gov has a hard problem to solve. It's a case of both of them being right - the gov needs a common level of gradable security applied, and these folks are in an uncommon position of being able to test and prove that their choice is more secure despite not being a graded choice that can be approved. The auditors are not subject matter experts, they work for bottom dollar to ensure fiscal efficiency and only check boxes. The best choice is shouted down in the name of efficiency. This is also how smart folks will nearly always be chased out of government work. It's always safer and less work to make the dumb safe choice rather than the smarter choice that costs less or works better. This explains most of the big problems we have in government. We're not allowed to make smart choices ever, only mediocre choices at best, worst choices most of the time. How long can we sustain this line of behavior though? We can do it for quite a while yet, but eventually the overhead will kill the state in multiple ways. Of always making mediocre decisions in order to guarantee mediocre results.