261–270 of 415 posts
It's over. I may as well not be a programmer anymore. The government has effectively made it possible that anyone and everyone who develops software or hardware used by anyone in the country, or where they feel national security comes into play, must compromise their software, and tell no one. They can ask any intern to break the software, and not tell their employer. It's bad enough to have a gaping hole in your sec…
Isn't this pretty much the same as the US and their National Security Letters? They can compel engineers/companies to do pretty much anything, and the veil of secrecy is the same.
So a NSL could request the records for who you are sending encrypted messages to but not the content of the messages and if your messaging provider can't or doesn't already gather that information they can't be compelled to start gathering such information.
If a NSL requests information which the recipient believes violates that guidelines of information which can be requested they can disclose the NSL to legal counsel and challenge the NSL in court.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
While true, Switzerland now shares banking data with the EU and US when required for their respective nationals. So foreign governments can and do exert pressure on them successfully.
While technically true, I've heard that most Swiss banks refuse to give US citizens bank accounts specifically to avoid the liability of the IRS's scheme to exfiltrate foreign bank data.
Somebody over on Reddit [1] went through all the submissions (there was a consultation period) and summarised and tallied them [2]. Fully 99%+ of submissions were against the bill. A sad day for democracy indeed. A church in Tasmania was in favour, because child pornography. 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/a3j466/assistanc... 2. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dowpZ_Xtr1N_DgkHJN8i...
Today I watched my country's democracy die via livestream, with the words "Labor withdraws all amendments".
This is another thing that adds to my deep sense of shame to live in this country (sadly, that list is long and growing). This bill does nothing to prevent the kinds of things it is intended to prevent. The apps this law targets were engineered specifically to prevent this kind of interference. The idea that passing legislation will suddenly change that, magically allowing decryption of messages is beyond idiotic. Th…
The government's primary goal is to protect itself and continue growing like cancer. In many ways the citizens are it's greatest threat because they can vote to cut budget and the power of the political elites. These laws are a way to increase monitoring of citizens so problems can be squashed before they grow too big and threaten the government. Make no mistake, with the rise of ML governments will be able to crush…
Point is, so long as a populous is armed it can strike fear in the government. Australia doesn’t allow guns in its citizens hands any more. They gave up their rights, now the government can do what it wants without fear.
Some of the comments so far seem to suggest that this bill would require software to include backdoors. However, it looks like [the bill's PDF]( https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/bi... ) includes: > Division 7—Limitations > 317ZG Designated communications provider must not be required to implement or build a systemic weakness or systemic vulnerability etc. > (1) A technical assistance notice o…
Thank you for this, there is a lot of doomsaying in this thread but this reads to me that it would be possible to refuse requests based on these limitations.
At the end of the day, if they tell you to do it, chances are you'll have to do it. And you can't complain to anybody.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm thinking about moving to NZ. How are they?
They are in Five Eyes, were instrumental in Echelon, illegally raided Dotcom... NZ is a beautiful country, but one of the weakest-willed in international terms. (Also, by all reports, internet connectivity sucks big time).
As a result you can get gigabit fibre in places on their UFB network for a similar price we pay for 50-100Mbps.
Somebody over on Reddit [1] went through all the submissions (there was a consultation period) and summarised and tallied them [2]. Fully 99%+ of submissions were against the bill. A sad day for democracy indeed. A church in Tasmania was in favour, because child pornography. 1. https://www.reddit.com/r/australia/comments/a3j466/assistanc... 2. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dowpZ_Xtr1N_DgkHJN8i...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The Director-General of Security, the Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate or the chief officer of an interception agency may give a technical assistance request to a designated communications provider. • A technical assistance request may ask the provider to do acts or things on a voluntary basis..." Note that an interception agen…
I don't see how you're up for civil charges if you fail to respond. It's voluntary. The line about not being subject to civil liability sounds to me like your employer can't fire or sue you for undermining the security of their product if you're doing so in response to a request.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It has to be under suspicion of a crime that attracts over 3 years jail (which is almost anything). They mentioned oversight of a "retired judge" and a "technology expert" in the autoplay video at the bottom of https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/security/inprincip...
Why a retired judge and not an active judge? Presumably because an active is required to obey certain standards and is legally independent. A retired judge is effective just some guy.