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Drive to Expand Australian Cyber Spy Powers

Source: SA Migration, 04/05/2018

Australiaâ€™s military cyber spy agency, the Australian Signals
Directorate (ASD), could soon be receiving radical new espionage powers
to monitor Australian citizens for the first time. If approved, the ASD
may be able to secretly access the digital information of Australians
including emails, health data, bank records, and text messages.
The Sunday Telegraph revealed a series of top secret letters exchanged
between the heads of the Department of Home Affairs and Department of
Defence discussing the plan to potentially allow government hackers
to â€œproactively disrupt and covertly removeâ€ onshore cyber threats
by â€œhacking into our critical infrastructure.â€
Currently, only ASIO and the Australian Federal Police have the powers
to investigate Australians and they require a warrant to do so.
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said that the proposed expansion
was in response to the increasing sophistication of transnational
criminal activity.
The proposed changes could grant the ASD powers to compel Australian
companies and government agencies to hand over data or security
information when requested. The expansion has been justified on the
basis that traditional law enforcement lacks the technical capacity to
fully identify, detect and disrupt systemic transnational Organised
crime involving Australian citizens, and often relies on foreign law
enforcement partners.
There is no need to panic just yet however, with Minister for Foreign
Affairs Julie Bishop stating that there are no plans for the Government
to expand the powers of the ASD as the laws already in place can target
transnational crime while maintaining Australianâ€™s privacy.

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