WhatsApp told to open account of London attacker

LONDON — Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood sent a WhatsApp message that cannot be accessed because it was encrypted by the popular messaging service, a top British security official said Sunday. British news reports suggest Masood used the messaging service owned by Facebook just minutes before the Wednesday rampage that killed three pedestrians and one police officer and wounded dozens more. Home Secretary Amber Rudd used appearances on BBC and Sky News to urge WhatsApp and other encrypted services to make their platforms accessible to intelligence services and police trying to carry out lawful eavesdropping. [...] her call for a “back door” system to allow authorities to retrieve information is likely to meet resistance from the tech industry, which has faced previous law enforcement demands for access to data after major attacks. Masood drove a rented sport utility vehicle into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before smashing it into Parliament’s gates and rushing onto the grounds, where he fatally stabbed a police officer and was shot by other officers.