https://www.accessnow.org/to-protect-human-rights-identify-and-disrupt-australias-hacking-bill/
*What’s wrong with the hacking Bill*
The surveillance overreach is extremely damaging for people’s privacy. The Identify and Disrupt Bill grants extensive hacking
powers to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) through three new
warrants: a *data disruption warrant*, a *network activity warrant*, and an *account takeover warrant*. These warrants allow the
authorities to *“disrupt” – add, copy, delete, or alter – **the data of suspected**offenders*; *hack into their devices and
networks* to discern identity; and *covertly take over their accounts and lock them out*. Civil society has rightly criticised
<https://www.zdnet.com/article/australias-new-hacking-powers-considered-too-wide-ranging-and-coercive-by-oaic/>the hacking Bill
for being “wide-ranging and coercive”, devoid of safeguards and detrimental to privacy.
There have been efforts to improve it, but not enough. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS)
<https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Intelligence_and_Security>in Australia has recommended
<https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024617/toc_pdf/AdvisoryreportontheSurveillanceLegislationAmendment(IdentifyandDisrupt)Bill2020.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf>33
changes to the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020
<https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6623>, subject to which it may
be passed by the Australian Parliament. The recommendations made by PJCIS include integrating greater oversight, judicial review,
consideration of privacy implications, sunset clauses, and assurance that it will only be used for the most serious offences. We
welcome the changes PJCIS recommends, but *t**hey are not sufficient to warrant passage*. In the interest of human rights,
lawmakers should reject the Bill outright or ensure additional reforms to protect people from the collective adverse impact of
Australia’s increasingly disproportionate surveillance laws.
--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
+61 404072753
mailto:[email protected] aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request
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