Let's be a bit more realistic, the title might as well have been "how I open-sourced my encryption software at the request of someone".
Yes, the author was way too quick to give up the source code, but it was just source code, not a backdoor key.
Yes, the author was way too quick to give up the source code, but it was just source code, not a backdoor key.
This means all users of the software are less safe. If the NSA can find a bug in the code, they can unlock everyone's files, but nobody else could ever uncover that bug.
They specifically asked for the code for this purpose. If you made no mistakes, your action did not help them nor hurt your customers. But if you have made a mistake that you're not yet aware, you took a conscious step to make it easier for the NSA to exploit that.
While the availability of source code does not make a difference in theory, this falls apart once you realize that even though the NSA has lots of resources, those resources aren't infinite.
However, I would probably respond along the lines, "I'd be happy to supply this, right after you show me a court order". Otherwise, no matter what, I cannot see how it would not be used for anything other than a nefarious purpose.