David Glance, University of Western Australia Australians are increasingly concerned about how companies handle their personal data, especially online. Faced with the increasing likelihood that this data will be compromised, either through cyber attacks or mishandling, companies are now being forced into a more comprehensive approach to collecting and protecting customers’ personal data. The question… Read More
Let’s face it, we’ll be no safer with a national facial recognition database
A commitment to share the biometric data of most Australians – including your driving licence photo – agreed at Thursday’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting will result in a further erosion of our privacy.
That sharing is not necessary. It will be costly. But will it save us from terrorism? Not all, although it will give people a false sense of comfort. Read More
Assassination by pacemaker: Australia needs to do more to regulate internet-connected medical devices
Wireless medical devices need greater security than, say, an internet-connected fridge. We need to ensure that information provided by the devices is safeguarded and that control of the devices – implantable or otherwise – is not compromised. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration must learn to deal with software and cybersecurity, rather than simply bits of metal and plastic. Read More
Police want to read encrypted messages, but they already have significant power to access our data
Many Australians are unaware of current police and intelligence powers when it comes to accessing our data. As the government lobbies for new levels of access, that needs to change. Read More
Poisoned water holes: the legal dangers of dark web policing
As police operations move into online environments, new rules for digital evidence collection and exchange must be developed to assist prosecutions while preserving due process and human rights. Without proper checks, police could have significantly expanded scope to search homes and computers around the world. Read More
Indian Supreme Court rules that individual privacy is a fundamental right. Another jurisdiction acknowledges a right to privacy… but still not Australia
The Indian Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision of Justice K S Puttaswamy (Retd) & anor v Union of India & ors, has today found that individual privacy is a fundamental right. It is a comprehensive decision running to 547 pages and 5 years in gestation. Even so India has recognised such a right ahead of Australia. Read More
Privacy and the postal plebiscite: Can the Australian Bureau of Statistics be trusted with voters’ data?
On 9 August it was announced that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) would run a non-binding and voluntary postal survey on the issue of same-sex marriage. By putting the Australian Bureau of Statistics in charge of the upcoming same-sex marriage postal survey, the Australian Government is failing to learn from its previous privacy blunders. Read More
The Australian government is importing spyware – Is that legal?
An Australian Tax Office (ATO) staffer recently leaked on LinkedIn a step-by-step guide to hacking a smartphone.
The documents, which have since been removed, indicate that the ATO has access to Universal Forensic Extraction software made by the Israeli company Cellebrite. This technology is part of a commercial industry that profits from bypassing the security features of devices to gain access to private data. Read More