There are two facts about crypto that often get mixed up in these discussions:
1. For a high value target like Edward Snowden, there is a broad spectrum of attacks, and any operational weakness is fatal. There are many examples of these attacks described on this thread. Unless you know what Snowden knows, odds are you will not get it right.
2. BUT, if everyone had easy encrypted email and real time communication, the mass surveillance machine would be blinded, because the kinds of attacks that are used against high value targets do not scale up well.
1. For a high value target like Edward Snowden, there is a broad spectrum of attacks, and any operational weakness is fatal. There are many examples of these attacks described on this thread. Unless you know what Snowden knows, odds are you will not get it right.
2. BUT, if everyone had easy encrypted email and real time communication, the mass surveillance machine would be blinded, because the kinds of attacks that are used against high value targets do not scale up well.