The Obama administration has been looking into methods to bypass encrypted communications in order to defeat an approach recommended by NSA leaker Edward Snowden and others to protect the privacy of smartphone messages.

A working group has come up with "technically feasible" ways tech companies might help law enforcement unlock encrypted communications, the Washington Post reported, even though some of the firms say their systems are not set up to circumvent the protections.

The federal government has been engaged in discussions for several months about how to deal with the growing use of encryption. Officials have argued that a warrant should allow them to obtain all communications, such as emails and text messages, from companies in terrorism and criminal cases.

Last year, Snowden urged "lawyers, journalists, doctors, accountants, priests and others" to employ encryption in order to comply with their "duty to protect confidentiality," the Guardian recalled.

"What last year's revelations showed us was irrefutable evidence that unencrypted communications on the Internet are no longer safe. Any communications should be encrypted by default," the whistleblower argued.

The administration's unclassified draft memo, written by officials from law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic and economic agencies for eventual consideration by Cabinet members, meanwhile, cautioned stakeholders not to advance the solutions as "administration proposals," according to the Washington Post.

"Any proposed solution almost certainly would quickly become a focal point for attacks," the document argued. "Rather than sparking more discussion, government-proposed technical approaches would almost certainly be perceived as proposals to introduce 'backdoors' or vulnerabilities in technology products and services and increase tensions rather [than] build cooperation."

National Security Council spokesman Mark Stroh, for his part, told the Washington Post that "these proposals are not being pursued."

"The United States government firmly supports the development and robust adoption of strong encryption, while acknowledging that use of encryption by terrorists and criminals to conceal and enable crimes and other malicious activity can pose serious challenges to public safety," Stroh insisted. "The administration continues to welcome public discussion of this issue as we consider policy options."