Islamic State, encryption and the Western response

American technology companies are by implication evil, and aiding terrorist groups such as Islamic State/ISIS according to a number of highly influential but terribly ill-informed Western players. Apple and Google have become the command and control networks of choice for terrorists and implementing full-device encryption by default will help Islamic State to plan future attacks, if we are to believe certain spy masters and career politicians. I use the term 'terribly ill-informed' wisely, and am aware that I will no doubt get plenty of flack from those who think the head of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) or Director of the FBI may just be better informed than myself when it comes to terrorist activity. However, I will stick to my guns and explain why I'm taking the stance that I am here.