The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) has asked for inclusion to the list of organisations able to access encrypted communications under Australia’s new laws, unsure of the rationale behind its exclusion.
It was revealed in a submission from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) that federal law enforcement and national security have already begun using the powers contained within the encryption laws.
“The department has also been advised by Commonwealth law enforcement and national security agencies that the powers in the Act have been used to support their work,” Home Affairs said, noting in the same paragraph that it was working closely with these agencies to facilitate the implementation of the Act.
In its submission, Home Affairs said it delivered training to the police forces of NSW and Victoria, specifically on what the new powers include.
The on-site training, DHA said, highlighted the legal processes that agencies must satisfy while using their new powers, as well as the administrative requirements of seeking approval from the Australian Federal Police Commissioner for the use of TANs.
It also included what “strict thresholds and safeguards” must be met, as well as operational use cases.
“Further training will be delivered to other state and territory police forces in February 2019,” the department wrote.
With the passage rushed through before the end of 2018, the Greens have called upon the government to provide data on the potential security threats that were identified and foiled since this time.
“Scott Morrison said he wanted to keep us all safe, well I want to know just how dangerous Christmas was this year for the average Australian,” Greens Digital Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said.
“Either we’ve seen an unprecedented spike in suspicious activity over Christmas and New Year — as the government claimed we would — or our own security agencies have already succumbed to the the dangerous misuse and mission creep of these anti-encryption powers.
“This is massive government overreach and I’m yet to see a skerrick of evidence to justify the need for these powers. They makes a mockery of our right to privacy, leave us more vulnerable to cyber espionage and permanently weaken the existing protections we all rely on to stay safe and secure online.”
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