If the CIA and NSA were intentionally concerned with this issue, it was not to frame the criminals but exploit them. This might be an approach to stir up a threat from the global crime organization with providing them obsolete hacking tools. In the end, the intelligence circles should be more demanded than before.
This type of counterintelligence really took place and I knew some of them, but this specific crime, the auction of hacking tools, was less likely an organizational decision of them, as this appeared too much. However, there is a possibility that some of the agents might leak these to keep their authority. If they are in charge of the job against these criminals or the national security breach, they can keep or even elevate their authority in the intelligence circles.
If that is the case, the equation group itself consists of the rogue agents. It should make sense why they hired Japanese data broker to auction and leaked the obsolete hacking tools under this scenario.
This case is probable, but if you consider they are assumed to be one of the global crime organization, the conclusion should be the same as original; the global crime organization hacked into the NSA server and obtained the tools which were provided to the Japanese data brokers who were told to auction them.
The difference might appear at their motivation that it is not for the show-up, but they would like to keep their authority to stir up the threat of the global crime organization.
FFF 