As untog noted (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6336178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6336178) in the discussion of the NYT piece on this topic, it'

As untog noted (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6336178 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6336178) in the discussion of the NYT piece on this topic, it's important to note that it's not like our security measures put up a fight and were defeated. They were mooted by a total circumvention. They never came into play. This is what I was talking about in an opinion piece recently on tc (http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/25/the-maginot-line/ http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/25/the-maginot-line/). Laws need to be improved, but we may be able to find good point to point methods that don't rely on security methods with vulnerabilities baked into the silicon.