Senior U.S. official meeting UK officials to tackle online security issues

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s campaign to force Silicon Valley to compromise on encrypted communications has received strong backing from a top U.S. government legal official, who called out tech firms for failing to balance crime-fighting demands with privacy needs.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met to discuss encryption with senior British government officials including interior minister Amber Rudd and the chief of MI5 intelligence agency on Thursday. He plans to meet with the head of its GCHQ service on Friday, he told Reuters.

“At this point we are coordinating with our foreign partners as to what the challenges are,” Rosenstein said in response to a question from a Reuters reporter at the global Cyber Security Summit, organized by Skytop Strategies

“I wouldn’t describe my goal is to put pressure on the tech industry,” he said, adding “Regulation is a potential option”.

Britain is trying to step up attempts to counter criminal activity online after a series of militant attacks this year but has to ensure it balances the demands of state security with the freedoms of democratic societies.