Well, if you’ll recall, Imperial security is so lax that a random R2 unit can not only plug into any old data port and gain access to information stored in the central computer (prisoner locations, etc.), but it can also override what are presumably regularly scheduled operations. Heck, even M$ doesn’t build software with so many security holes! 
My impression was that they didn’t know about the flaw. Remember after they were already engaged with the rebels as they were approaching Yavin, an officer approached Tarkin and said “We’ve analyzed their attack, sir, and there is a danger. Should I have your ship standing by?”
If they did, the Death Star would destroy planets by crashing into them.
And it’d ask if you wanted to send an Annihilation Report.
Hey, now that I think about it, there’s a slight possibility that this was actually in RotJ. 
And apparently, my friends and I wound up ripping off an old PvP comic.
This is what I’ve always assumed. The flaw just kinda slipped past everyone’s notice. Then, during the attack, that one officer grabbed the schematics, saw what was at the end of that trench, and said, “Oh, crap.”
Was his name “Ensign Ricky”?
Rest assured that Lucas films will release a series of novels, a couple of anime-style comics and a full-length cartoon movie describing how the rebels gets their hands on the Death Star plans, while ignoring everything else that has been written, be it EU or games.
Vader capturing Leia: You weren’t on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by rebel spies. I want to know what became of the plans they sent you.
Leia after arrival at Yavin: Now we’ll find out if those plans were worth the price we paid.
So, either bribed someone on the inside to get them(thus making them spies) or Leia was referring to a non-monetary “price” making it likely the spies were caught.
Enjoy,
Steven
The odd thing is that Vader’s dialogue suggests that the plans were beamed to the Rebels – meaning it was a data file and not an unreproducible physical copy.
If that’s the case, why not just toss the plans on whatever the Imperial equivalent of the Internet is, and tell everyone to make copies? The Empire couldn’t possibly stop sixty bazillion mirrors of DeathstarPlans.zip, especially if we’re talking peer-to-peer sharing, and the Rebels could just download a copy at their leisure and not go galvanizing all over the place like a bunch of ninnies.
For a few weeks now, I’ve had a mind to make a T-shirt with "Many Bothans died to bring me this T-shirt on it.
With a little wire-frame drawing of a T-shirt.
Because, Grasshopper, even George Lucas doesn’t have a time machine.
You see, in 1975, when filming began, the Internet was still called the ARPAnet, and most ordinary mortals didn’t have access to it, didn’t even know about it, mostly. Access was restricted to government and research institutions, and nobody would have dreamed of using it to set up a filesharing system to swap music and films. They used it for serious purposes, like sending their co-workers and ASCII drawing of Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace, shaking his fist and yelling Curse You, Red Baron! So, no big surprise, Lucas didn’t conceive of a more advanced form of computer network than one that would allow the Empire to send a single copy of the plans for the Death Star, disguised to look like a picture of Ol’ Helmet Head, shaking his gloved fist and hissing (hoo-hooh) Curse You, Rebel Scum! (hoo-hooh)
I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home. They’re not much bigger than two meters.
Bah. I missed Bryan Ekker’s post.
And it was funnier, too…
No, but he does have a computerized box of crayons which he likes to rub all over his movies to “correct” things, like the “problems” with Han shooting first.
The exhaust port WAS shielded against beam weapons, which is why they had to do the whole Bridges at Toko-Ri thing down the trench, as opposed to just flying straight at it and shooting a laser down the exhaust port.
Sure, in theory there was a flaw, but it would have to be a hell of a great shot.
One in a million.
Considering the size of the station, the fact that there was only one potentially devastating design flaw is actually pretty remarkable. In any case, if the imperials knew what was going on and needed an improvised shield, surely they could’ve parked a big transport in the trench or something. My guess is the officer who reported the flaw to Tarkin felt all his bravery evaporating when he got chewed out and quietly slipped into a corner (or if he was a smart, an escape pod) to sulk.
I’d always presumed that it was because R2D2 had the plans stored in his memory that he could do that. Not just blueprints but things like datacomm protocols, security codes, etc.
Well, that works for that film, but not every other film in the series where R2 jacks into a random port and begins doing things.
Insert R2 centered Double Entendre Here
I’m now thinking of that scene in ROTJ (when he’s trying to open the blast doors at the shield generator bunker) in a whole different light.