Why did the Pentagon spend $32.8M on risky tech?

First off, I sell relabelled Toshiba/Lexmark A4 product.

It both sells well and works well into the SMB marketplace and has helped me make budget and income ever since the product was launched in Dec 2018.

Toshiba does intend to manufacture its own A4 product line but that is at least one year away.

If you follow Lexmark, it is a very "opaque" company on the web with regards to ownership and financial information.

I am sure that Lexmark has penetrated deeply into all corners of the US gov't.  They have been selling via the GSA for many years plus at all state and municipal levels.

With the US China trade war seemingly prepared to ratchet up with another 10% tariff on Sept 01 to cover virtually all imports from China (copier/ printer products are already subject to a 25% tariff), there is no end in sight until potentially after the 2020 Presidential elections (if a China friendly Democratic President is elected).

In my experience with the DND, most purchases are made by local staff officers who are not necessarily in tune with the latest security concerns.  Until the GSA makes some much higher level decisions about vendor eligibility, little will change in the next two years.

Lexmark introduced a new product line in late 2018.  I am not sure if the security vulnerabilities still exist as detailed in the above described report.

Certainly these risks could be closed with the next GSA RFQ technical requirements.

Lexmark is in a similar position to Huawei where they could be considered to be a potential security risk by some senior members of the US gov't.  The US gov't has to date not produced what detailed threats Huawei presents.  This could all be a bargaining position in the USA China trade war.

I suspect that most DOD defence purchasing agents think that Lexmark is an American owned corporation when in fact it is now a 100% owned Chinese corporation.