Terrorism is a bigger problem than government overreach, the former head of the National Security Agency said on Tuesday.

“The problem we have is that our security structures and our security law and policies are all designed to protect us against a malevolent state power,” retired Gen. Michael Hayden said at a luncheon hosted by the American Bar Association. “Most of the things that can go bump in the night and affect your safety and mine are not the product of a malevolent state power. They are more or less the byproduct of state failure.”