It is normal for the government agencies such NSA to hire experts or outside consultant to do some of the work which they are supposed to be doing. The same applies to private companies which at times might be overwhelmed by some of the tasks; Nemesysco Limited, a company which deals with the security products may at times hire consultant to give some expert on some issues which touch on their business. In the past twelve months alone.NSA has spent more than twenty five million dollars to buy programs from companies which deal with malware products.Analyst are of the opinion that the agency unlike its peer has been a victim of top hacking due to its secretive deals with the vendors of software which at time their origin cannot be ascertained.
Microsoft and other companies have advised the government on the gaps that exists in their system before they offer to update the systems. This is normally done to give the agency a chance to exploit the bugs.NSA in addition to what is provided goes ahead to procure bugs that the big venders no nothing about therefore increasing their vulnerability. Many are wondering who NSA may be paying in the secretive marketplace.
One of the players who have been identified in the arena is the French company Vupen.A note which was disclosed by Wiki Leaks shows that the company boasts of its capacity to supply exclusive codes for unknown vulnerabilities. There are plans of opening a shop near the NSA headquarter, something which further complicates the matter.
In its disclosure, Wiki Leaks has said that there are more than one hundred companies which are participating in the surveillance industry allover the world, although not all of them participate in selling of software vulnerabilities. This is something that company producing door video phone would not attempt to do due to the sensitivity of the gadget and the clients who are being reached.
The market for thee products is growing and the fear that there is a grey legal area. It is still not clear whether the agency is getting the products from the black market.
