The big point of this article is, given all of the NSA spying and mass surveillance of pretty much all phone networks worldwide, they still failed to detect anything related to this attack.

It shows two main things:

1) Mass drag-net style surveillance programs are not very effective.

2) Banning encryption will have minimal-to-no effect on improving mass drag-net style surveillance programs.

This means, to date, the only "terrorist plot" thwarted by the NSA mass drag-net style surveillance program remains that one guy who tried to send $8,500 to the Taliban (and was promptly arrested)[1].

[1] http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/10/nsa-spying-did-not-re...