WhatsApp on Tuesday announced that all types of messages on the latest version of its app are now automatically protected by end-to-end encryption, and the FBI's top attorney is worried some of the platform's more than 1 billion global users will take advantage of the move to hide their crime- or terrorism-related communications.

FBI General Counsel James Baker said in Washington on Tuesday that the decision by the Facebook-owned messaging platform to encrypt its global offerings "presents us with a significant problem" because criminals and terrorists could "get ideas."



Speaking during an event hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the FBI's top attorney said the increasing use of such encryption threatens the reach of law enforcement investigations.

"If the public does nothing, encryption like that will continue to roll out," he said. "It has public safety costs. Folks have to understand that, and figure out how they are going to deal with that. Do they want the public to bear those costs? Do they want the victims of terrorism to bear those costs?"

WhatsApp has employed end-to-end encryption to secure messages since 2014, shortly after leaks to the press about massive surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency pressured companies to reassure customers of their privacy.

In a blog post on Tuesday, WhatsApp co-founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton said the new upgrade keeps all content private and accessible only by the people sending messages to each other. Touting the cybersecurity benefits of encryption, the co-founders said the upgrade defends against both hackers and oppressive regimes, under which some of the service's users live.

"While we recognize the important work of law enforcement in keeping people safe, efforts to weaken encryption risk exposing people's information to abuse from cybercriminals, hackers, and rogue states," the blog post says.



Baker said the FBI did not know how companies should increase the use of encryption without addressing its potential misuse by criminals, and called for lawmakers to take on the issue. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., reportedly have circulated draft legislation dealing with judges' power to order companies to assist in accessing encrypted data.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, meanwhile, have introduced legislation proposing a commission tasked with issuing recommendations on digital security challenges such as encryption.

Stronger encryption can also benefit the government, Baker said, noting that data about himself and his family were exposed during a massive Office of Personnel Management breach that affected an estimated 21.5 million federal employees or job applicants.