The U.K. government is now investigating the terror attack that happened last week in London. Terrorist Khalid Masood drove a vehicle into several pedestrians and stabbed a police officer who was outside of the Palace. The attacker Khalid Masood used the WhatsApp messaging service just minutes before the attack, according to British security services. Since WhatsApp uses encrypted messaging system, they are unable to access the messages. In addition, UK government has also requested Microsoft to provide email information related to this terrorist attack. Yesterday, there was a report claiming that Microsoft declined to process the information request from the UK government.
Microsoft has now officially responded to this incident. They confirmed about the request they received last week seeking email information related to the terrorist attack in London. And they also confirmed that they had promptly provided the information requested.
Our team responded in under 30 minutes last week to verify that the legal order was valid and provided law enforcement the information that was sought,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith. “Our global team is on call 24/7 and responds when it receives a proper and lawful order. This of course is different from helping a government outside the rule of law to turn over private information or hack or attack a customer, which we’ve said clearly we will not do. We’re committed both to protecting public safety and safeguarding personal privacy, and we believe that proper legal process is the key to striking this balance.”
Microsoft also highlighted that they have responded to 14 lawful requests following the November 2015 terrorist attack in Paris and the Paris attack on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015.
