Here's an example...
of why I don't necessarily trust the government when it comes to security issues.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/23/schneier.google.hacking/
Doing the wrong thing is often worse than doing nothing.
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This is a good article, but
This is a good article, but if you're not going to trust the government, who are you willing to trust?. One other important thing to remember or note is that people in the "community" and the "commentary arena" (two distinct groups although there is some cross over) do not always agree. Bruce Schneier's views are important to the dialog. Read the Phares article that I posted. Also remember that cyber is a totally unique piece of the total counterterrorism picture.
I trust myself, everyone
I trust myself, everyone else I verify. Designing in backdoors is just a dumb idea that never should have been done. Everyone knew that 10+ years ago, but the idiots in Congress don't understand and aren't likely to get it any time soon. The fact that people like Bruce apparently still aren't being taken seriously enough by the government is scary. I've seen him speak several times and have been a follower of his writing since the first edition of "Applied Cryptography" was published.
Who said Bruce Schneier's
Who said Bruce Schneier's views aren't taken seriously? He's credible. So are people like Jeff Addicott. So are people like Walid Phares. So are people like Matt Devost and Aaron Mannes. So are people like Adam Alkus. So are people like Michael Tanji. And the list of credible people goes on for miles including all of the names I know and have forgotten to list right now.
Start with the fact that this isn't a science and that most if not all of the opinions have validity. Now, pick one and figure out where and when the next terrorist attack will occur and what its nature will be. That is the problem in a nutshell. Analysis of intelligence is a very subject field and open to interpretation and personal bias.
You have alot of opinions. Act on them. I know that I do.
Another important piece is
Another important piece is that we're still in the very earliest stages of counterterrorism policy and actions. Some people were writing about it in 1999-2000 (see Homeland Security Institute in DC). One of my closest advisors served on the counterterrorism advisory panels back in the mid-90's. But, yes, almost 8 1/2 years after September 11th, its still early and evolving.
The other thing is that cherry picking one issue as an example of government over regulating or missing something, doesn't answer the overall question nor does it deal with the total picture which is a complex mosaic. Even if you think that you understand one aspect (or find one article to support a point), the subject matter is variable, multifaceted, always changing and always amorphous.
Just as the counterterrorism measures are being developed and trsted before deployment, countermeasures are being thrown at us from multiple directions. Go and read a little about the evolution of IEDs. Just what is in the public domain is astounding and frightening.