The US designed an insecure Internet and operating systems for routers, PCs, and smartphonnes

[FarCenter]

The Internet originated in US government funded academic and military research institutions. Most further development, including the protocols and operating systems of most routers were developed by US academics and corporate research institutions. Most PC run either US developed Microsoft Windows or Linux derived from AT&T and U Cal Berkeley Unix. The iOS and Android operating systems are creations of the US' Apple and Google. The air interface and protocols for smartphones are heavily influenced by Qualcomm, which was a major military communications company.

So why is this all so insecure? Did the US government want it to be insecure?

Maintaining the intercept capabilities of NSA and the FBI were more important than security.

[flyingfysh]

1. It is a very old design

Look up the history of how it was developed. Back then, it didn't occur to anyone what hacking into a system could be an issue. It was basically a research project.

There is an excellent history of the very early days in "Where Wizards Stay Up Late", available on Amazon.

[FarCenter]

2. The government opposed designing in security whenever it felt its intercept ability threatened

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipjack_(cipher)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Good_Privacy