&gt;  I think we have to assume that if a government can hack it, they will try. Perhaps it&#x27;s sad that a university will help them but I&#x27;d also to be assumed that they&#x27;re going to be trying it in some way.<p>Sure.  And we can also-- for the purpose of thinking about risks-- assume that if a government can torture people, they will.<p>This doesn&#x27;t make it right, and it doesn&#x27;t mean that people should sit idly by.  Nor does the fact that people oppose and discourage such actions mean that systems can be left vulnerable to these attacks.<p>Opposing unethical and abusive behavior is not mutually exclusive with building systems which are robust even against unethical attackers.  Human wellbeing is maximized when we do _both_.