The systems <i>are</i> already leaky (like the metadata, for instance, but also the weak end-point security most devices have, poor HTTPS implementations, and so on). This is <i>not a problem</i>. The problem is the intelligence agencies <i>have too many &quot;targets&quot;</i>. They&#x27;re only making things harder for themselves putting everyone on &quot;lists&quot;. At least one of the terrorists from the recent Paris attack was on such list - an &quot;extremist&quot; list even. Didn&#x27;t seem to help.<p>I think it&#x27;s becoming more clear that intelligence alone is not enough.<p>I&#x27;m also very worried that 10 years from now we&#x27;ll have an even bigger problem than Daesh in the Middle East, even if Daesh is &quot;wiped out&quot; - Al Qaeda was wiped out, too, unless we forget. Daesh is much bigger than Al Qaeda was, which means they have many more relatives and children than Al Qaeda had - children that may rise up again in 10 years to avenge their fallen fathers and cousins.<p>France&#x27;s reaction feels very much knee-jerk and 20th century thinkining - &quot;Someone attacked us? Let&#x27;s bomb the hell out of them then!&quot;. It kind of reminds me of when the French generals ordered their foot troops into the Germans&#x27; machine guns a century ago, because that was their 19th century thinking at the time.<p>This is a whole other discussion that also needs to happen, and I think a much bigger issue than the encryption one.