British security
officials have revealed that Westminster Bridge terror attacker Khalid
Masood made series of encrypted messages on popular messaging platform,
Whatsapp, before carrying out the attack, and have urged the social media
company to give them back-end access to encrypted messages in order to avoid
future attacks.
Masood drove a rented SUV into pedestrians on
Westminster Bridge before smashing it into Parliament's gates and rushing onto
the grounds, where he stabbed a policeman to death before he was shot dead, an
attack which lasted just 82 seconds.
U.K Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Sunday urged those behind
WhatsApp -- and similar apps to make their back end encryption accessible to
security agencies, a plea that resembled that made by the FBI following
the San Bernardino terror attack in December 2015 where they asked Apple to
help unlock one of the terrorist's iPhones. But such a move will be very
unlikely by Whatsapp or other social media platforms, as they believe in customer
confidentiality and privacy.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said;
"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 said.
"This terrorist sent a WhatsApp message and it can't be
accessed."
According to Rudd, if there is no change in the system, terrorists would
be able to communicate with each other without fear of being overheard even in
cases where a legal warrant has been obtained.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu revealed British security
officials may never be possible to fully determine Masood's motives.
"That understanding may have died with him," Basu said Saturday night
as police appealed for people who knew Masood or saw him to contact
investigators.
"Even if he acted alone in the preparation, we need to
establish with absolute clarity why he did these unspeakable acts, to bring
reassurance to Londoners."
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