It that respect, (2) is just a mouthpiece for (1), provided there’s a back door or vulnerability that only (1) knows about.
Do you have any examples from existing tools, e.g. Tor, for which that's true? Tor's been around a long time-- surely something would have surfaced at this point, but I haven't really paid attention to it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(network)#Exit_node_eave...
I'm not in the field, but it seems like it would be way more useful for law enforcement working against criminals naive enough to think tor would be a one-stop op-sec solution (e.g. ANOM) than for nation-state-level counterintelligence.
Saying it another way, don’t attack platforms, tools and channels, attack protocols since they are used across platforms, tools and channels
To this end, some examples:
Attack on
1) encryption - RSA backdoor
https://blog.cloudflare.com/how-the-nsa-may-have-put-a-backd...
2) hardware - Processor Backdoor
https://forums.whonix.org/t/expert-claims-nsa-has-backdoors-...
(this link is specifically great for this subject as it lists more than 10 different attack / compromise programs that are being run - with quite a few of them being protocol attacks - in the comments section )
3) networking - network gear firmware backdoor
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa...
pretty sure this is hearsay from a message board, but I can't for the life of me recall where or when I heard this.
Moreover, it is not DARPA doing the development. They fund other entities to do it.
Wait. Can you clarify this? I know that NIST's standards were compromised by the NSA or at least there is evidence of it. However, this is not necessarily the same as being morally compromised. The story I've read is that the NIST was taken for a ride by the NSA but weren't in bed with them. Is the narrative I have incorrect?