Number 2 seems most likely, so then the question is: Why would they lie? 2a. They're lying for political reasons. (This seems to be the most common explanation

Number 2 seems most likely, so then the question is: Why would they lie? 2a. They're lying for political reasons. (This seems to be the most common explanation in this discussion and others.) 2b. They're lying to make the real hackers feel safe and potentially make a security mistake. Some other reason?