Yes and no. They are tasked with protecting national security assets within the US, most of which rely on commercial systems. When they find a dangerous flaw

Yes and no. They are tasked with protecting national security assets within the US, most of which rely on commercial systems. When they find a dangerous flaw in those systems, especially one loose in the wild, they are to help fix it. To not fix it is to leave US systems at risk. "in almost all instances, for widely used code, it is in the national interest to eliminate software vulnerabilities rather than to use them for US intelligence collection" ( quote from the 2013 panel report, not wired.) http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/White-House-NSA-Panel-Report-2013.pdf http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/White-House-...