Encryption is anti-terrorism’s biggest problem, says Europol chief
One of Europe’s top police investigators has told the BBC that encrypted communications are the biggest problem in tackling terrorism across the globe. Europol director Rob Wainwright, speaking to the 5 Live Investigates program, said secure messaging apps and “dark net” platforms were enabling criminals and terrorists to escape detection.
“[Encrypted communications have] become perhaps the biggest problem for the police and the security service authorities in dealing with the threats from terrorism,” said Wainwright. “It’s changed the very nature of counterterrorist work from one that has been traditionally reliant on having good monitoring capability of communications to one that essentially doesn’t provide that anymore.”
The police chief’s comments are sure to add to the debate over the balance between intelligence gathering and the privacy of ordinary citizens. Many users and tech companies are eager to create secure messaging environments where messages can’t be monitored — especially in the wake of Edward Snowden’s NSA revelations — but this also means that those plotting crimes or acts of terror have somewhere to communicate undetected.
