Tech & Rights

UK Home Sec 'Using' Westminster Attack to Justify WhatsApp Spying

The former chief of cyber security for Britain's Ministry of Defense (MoD) is accusing Home Secretary Amber Rudd of using last week's terror attack to justify greater government surveillance powers over the WhatsApp...

by LibertiesEU
The home secretary is accused of using the attack as a reason to expand government surveillance powers. (Image: David Holt)

The former chief of cyber security for Britain's Ministry of Defense (MoD) is accusing Home Secretary Amber Rudd of using last week's terror attack to justify greater government surveillance powers over the WhatsApp messaging service. Major General Jonathan Shaw said giving intelligence agencies the ability to spy on messages would simply cause the problem to "mutate and move on." Rudd earlier said she supported end-to-end encryption, but she also said security services must be able to eavesdrop when they have a warrant. It has been reported that Rudd is herself a WhatsApp user.

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