British Authorities Slam WhatsApp for Encryption Used by London Terrorist

[Exterminator]

End-to-end encryption services like WhatsApp are once more being slammed for offering protection for users everywhere. This time, the UK is doing all the finger pointing, and it's because of the terrorist attack that took place on Wednesday.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has accused WhatsApp of giving terrorists "a place to hide," after the company has failed to comply with a demand to hand over the last messages sent by London attacker, Adrian Ajao, the Telegraph reports.

"This terrorist sent a WhatsApp message, and it can't be accessed," Rudd said. She also said that it is completely unacceptable for end-to-end encryption to be offered because there should be no place for terrorists to hide.

"We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp - and there are plenty of others like that - don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other," she added.

The British authorities are complaining that Scotland Yard and the security services cannot access encrypted messages sent via WhatsApp, so they cannot know who Ajao contacted or what the told them before the attack.

Not only did Rudd slam WhatsApp, but also went after Google and social media platforms which have been known for being late to take down extremist material or refusing to take it down altogether due to their protection of "free speech" and the way their Terms are worded.

A much-desired backdoor
This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last time, when WhatsApp and other similar services, as well as encrypted email tools, are slammed by authorities. End-to-end encryption is supposed to protect users from hackers, but also mass-surveillance, such as that exposed by Edward Snowden's NSA files.

The way it works, a message is encrypted the second it is sent by one user, and it only gets decrypted once it reached the recipient. In this way, WhatsApp doesn't have access to any plain-text messages, which means it cannot share anything with authorities.

In recent months there have been more and more voices asking for encryption backdoors for authorities, something that tech companies will likely never agree to; not without losing users in droves.

 

[Ink]

The never ending War over Privacy.

Innocent people want it.
Criminals abuse it.
People die.
and repeat...​

 

[509322]

If a terrorist uses snail mail - the Royal Mail - to pull something similar off, will the British government abolish the Royal Mail ?

It's the same here in the U.S. The government's ultimate goal is to abolish any form of unbreakable encryption by criminalizing it and bullying\harassing users, device manufacturers and soft publishers.

 

[ZeroDay]

I'd say there's a LOT more regular day to day users of Whatsapp and similar services than there are terrorists.

 

[509322]

I'd say there's a LOT more regular day to day users of Whatsapp and similar services than there are terrorists.

Throw the baby out with the bath water... it's ludicrous. That's just my opinion. On top of it, make all encryption breakable and the criminals and terrorists - ingenious little buggers that they are - will only find different means. So, in the end, governments will find themselves right back where they started.

 

[Amelith Nargothrond]

I don't get it, really. If they do not protect privacy, let's cut off their head. If they do, terrorists are using it, so let's cut off their heads again. When and how will people ever be pleased?

 

[oneeye]

The biggest problem here is,...people just DON'T understand technology very well, or ignore the consequences of NOT keeping up. And for those that do know, and want to degrade our ability to stay safe, are the worst ones, because it's a power grab for them. Either we respect people's rights to privacy and security, or we end up living in a police state. They think that the western governments would be benevolent dictators, but they are wrong. People will abuse power, every time, if there are no restraints.

 

[Deleted member 178]

I wonder if those idiots pushing this ever talked with security specialists?

if i was a terrorist i won't even need whatsapp; i could do it on facebook , just deploy a mediaval style encryption , replace original words with another.

like:

" hey brother, tomorrow is our uncle birthday at his house, we will celebrate it with a big party at 6pm."

translation:

"hey fellow terrorist, after tomorrow , it is US embassy doom , we will celebrate it by bombing them at 6am"

lol do i need Whatsapp ? clearly not. They just want spy on everybody legally. Terrorism is just a providential excuse

 

[jamescv7]

Do not make the technology as a source of blame, remember that it's all about human's behavior or perspective.

The program is still created by developers (people) thus the flaw is based on what will be the capable based on majority of users feedback.

An endless research though.