San Francisco - Even though Silicon Valley has had an often-contentious relationship with the US government's national security organizations, it's now time to be neighbours, one top official said Tuesday.
US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that his office is "finalizing plans to open up a satellite office in Silicon Valley, to serve as another point of contact with our friends here."
Speaking at the RSA 2015 conference on cyber security in San Francisco, Johnson said, "We want to strengthen critical relationships in Silicon Valley and ensure that the government and the private sector benefit from each other's research and development."
He added that "cyber security must be a partnership between government and the private sector. We need each other, and we must work together."
The tech industry has sought to keep its distance from the US administration over the past two years, since leaked documents from former contractor Edward Snowden suggested intelligence services had special access to data from major Internet companies.
The tech sector has argued that it provides data for lawful requests but does not allow "backdoor" access to the National Security Agency or other government agencies.
More recently, efforts by Apple and Google to encrypt their smartphones without holding access to "keys" has raised concerns in Washington that the moves would make it more difficult to catch criminals and terrorists.
AFP
