Privacy more important than security: Interpol foundation

Abu Dhabi - London police said Masood had sent encrypted messages to an unknown person before the attack that left three pedestrians and one policeman dead and several others wounded.

The privacy of individuals cannot be compromised while safeguarding security, and hence security agencies have no right of access to encrypted messages of private individuals, Elias Murr, president of the Interpol Foundation has said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Unity for Security conference that began on March 28 in Abu Dhabi, Murr said the privacy of human beings is of utmost importance and should be respected at any cost by law enforcement authorities.
"We cannot allow a few criminals around the world to lead us to break privacy that concerns billions of people around the world. If it is a question of privacy and security, it is privacy that should win, not security."
Murr's statement come in the wake of a raging privacy vs security debate between tech companies and security agencies, triggered by the latest Westminster bridge terror attack in London in which the attacker Khalid Masood was believed to have used the WhatsApp messaging service minutes before the terror attack.
London police said Masood had sent encrypted messages to an unknown person before the attack that left three pedestrians and one policeman dead and several others wounded. The message or its intended recipient could not be accessed by security forces, because WhatsApp, owned by Facebook has encrypted the messages.
Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd has urged WhatsApp and other encrypted services to make their messaging platforms accessible to intelligent services saying "encryption that conceals a terrorist's actions is completely unacceptable."
"We need to make sure that platforms like WhatsApp - and there are plenty of others like that - don't provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other," she was quoted by the western media.
But countering the argument, WhatsApp - which has billions of users worldwide - said they cannot compromise on the privacy of its users as it is their core belief.
Toeing the same line, Murr said: "It will always be a challenge. It will be a huge risk. But security agencies have no choice but to respect privacy."
But Peter T. Drennan, Under Secretary-General for Safety and Security, United Nations chose to bat for security over privacy.
In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Drennan said if the context is to save lives and make the world safer, then security agencies should have access to encrypted messages. "We need to look at the core issue. The law enforcement agencies are asking for this information, not for the sake of just having it. They need that information to prevent loss of lives. That is, to me, the most important thing that we can do.
"As much as some people may talk about intrusion of privacy, we need to understand that preventing terrorist attacks and saving lives must be the overriding cause," Drennan said.
Sophisticated technology used by criminals and terrorists taking advantage of the digital world was one of the key issues discussed at the Unity for Security Conference, attended by industry leaders, law enforcement authorities, Interpol officials, ministers and senior police officials from the UAE.
Industry experts say when an organised criminal network uses sophisticated technologies to communicate, countries need to be ahead of their game and develop effective solutions.
"Law enforcement need solutions support. We need to find a balance between privacy and security. However annoying it may be, we need to listen to both sides and find effective solutions," said Drennan.
anjana@khaleejtimes.com 
 

• Abu Dhabi