They later claimed it was their anti-piracy measure, so I doubt it.
Corporations are like politicians in how they respond to damaging news. They respond with whatever explanation seems, at the time, like the one that will make the questions go away. Under such circumstances, I can see where they would take a defensive, almost reactionary position. Heck, just by virtue of
being an Amiga hardware developer, they are probably used to being quick on the defensive to almost any question, let alone one concerning allegations of malicious software. The "we did it to protect our product from criminals" excuse probably just seemed better than "We did it because we accidently
hired a criminal". I just find it hard to believe that a company like Elbox could, if it chose, make a lot more money in the greener pastures of the x86 world, but instead chose to support a much smaller but dedicated Amiga market, largely on the basis of virtue. It certainly wasn't for market share, stock price, or 7-figure profit margins. It just doesn't make sense that this company has a bi-polar evil twin who laces its charity with poison.