[1] Shortly after the release of the first test version, reviewers concluded the software did not live up to promises made about its functionality and security, and would leave its users' computers more vulnerable.
Haystack was announced in the context of the perceived wave of Internet activism during 2009 Iranian election protests.
Early on in the project the CRC claims to have received a manual describing Iran's filtering software, written in Persian, from an Iranian official.
[3] Amidst criticism from technologists, including Jacob Appelbaum and Danny O'Brien, on September 13, 2010, the Washington Post reported[4] that security concerns had led to suspension of testing of Haystack.
The following day the BBC reported the same news and quoted the CRC as stating that source code to the application would be released.