Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the couple who killed 14 people last week at a San Bernardino social services center, communicated with each other using encrypted devices, ABC News reported Wednesday.

The senior officials who talked to ABC about the San Bernardino attack said that Farook and Malik both had some form of encryption on their electronic devices, preventing authorities from accessing all relevant information. The officials said that they are still trying to retrieve data from the devices.

In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Director James Comey said, “There’s no doubt that use of encryption is part of terrorist tradecraft now.” The FBI director added, “Increasingly, we are unable to see what they say, which gives them a tremendous advantage against us.”

Comey added that one the shooters who attempted to attack an event that featured drawings of the Prophet Mohammed in Texas this past May had sent over 100 encrypted messages to “an overseas terrorist” before the assault, which authorities were unable to read.

While Comey suggested in his testimony that companies that create encryption should also develop ways to break it if needed, he emphasized that “The government shouldn’t be telling people how to operate their systems.”

Like the shooter in Garland, Farook was tied to a known terror operative. During the attack, Malik reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS.

[Photo: CBS Los Angeles / YouTube ]