This doesn't really sound like "NIH." At least from the tidbits of conversation given in that post, it sounds like his boss is being responsible, and trying to

This doesn't really sound like "NIH." At least from the tidbits of conversation given in that post, it sounds like his boss is being responsible, and trying to evaluate the risk of the various possibilities. [The questioner, on the other hand, sounds very inexperienced, and seems to have latched onto the (dubious) label "NIH" simply because they know it sounds bad...]