Router Company Begs Obama to Stop NSA Tampering as Feds Focus on Chinese Hackers

Cisco Systems, probably the best-known provider of network and
router technology, saw its
sales plunge in 2013 in the wake of Edward Snowden’s release of
documents detailing the National Security Agency’s (NSA)
surveillance techniques, which indicated that our online encryption
methods were not secure from the feds. Furthermore, the documents
indicated the NSA was physically tampering with computer equipment
sent through the mail to install methods of intercepting data.

Glenn Greenwald’s
new book, No Place to Hide, takes the accusations a
step further, including photos from a 2010 NSA document that
appears to show the agency resealing an intercepted package that is
clearly labeled with Cisco’s logo.

Cisco leaders claim they didn’t know the NSA was engaging in
this behavior and did not cooperate. Now the chief executive
officer of Cisco, John Chambers, has sent a letter directly to
President Barack Obama, asking for him to get the NSA to knock it
off already.

Tech site Re/Code got a copy of the letter and
took note:

Addressing the allegations of NSA interference with the delivery
of his company’s products, Chambers wrote: “We ship our products
globally from inside as well as outside the United States, and if
these allegations are true, these actions will undermine confidence
in our industry and in the ability of technology companies to
deliver products globally.”

“We simply cannot operate this way; our customers trust us to be
able to deliver to their doorsteps products that meet the highest
standards of integrity and security,” Chambers wrote. “We
understand the real and significant threats that exist in this
world, but we must also respect the industry’s relationship of
trust with our customers.”

Failure to restore and repair that trust, Chambers said, could
threaten the evolution of the Internet itself and lead to its
fragmentation.

Something to keep in mind today as the Department of Justice
announces  it is filing charges against
five hackers in the Chinese military for stealing trade secrets
from American industries.