Subject:  (Christian) Oz Secret plan for spies to bug PCs (fwd)
Date:     Wed, 13 Jan 1999 063034 -0600 (CST)
From:     "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To:       emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
--------------------------------------------------


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 19:09:11 +1100
From: Kerrie Christian 
To: Illawarra-L 
Cc: leftlink , MAI-NOT 
Subject: Oz Secret plan for spies to bug PCs

The Australian -
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/index.asp?URL=/national/4301119.htm
     Secret plan for spies to bug PCs
     By DAN TEBBUTT

     13jan99

     PERSONAL computers would become police spy stations under secret
proposals
     put to the Federal Government by a former deputy director of ASIO.

     The Australian Federal Police, ASIO and the National Crime
Authority would be
     empowered to alter software to turn PCs into covert listening
devices, according to
     the 1996 report by one-time spy chief Gerald Walsh.

     The report also recommends changes to the Commonwealth Crimes Act
to allow
     police and government investigators to hack into computer systems
for evidence.

     While Mr Walsh called for public discussion of his proposals, the
report was
     withdrawn by the Attorney-General's Department. But a copy of the
96-page
     document was obtained last week by Internet privacy campaigners
Electronic
     Frontiers Australia and released to The Australian.

     A spokesman for Attorney-General Daryl Williams confirmed last
night that Mr
     Walsh's recommendations were under discussion but the report was
"just one
     element" of policy being considered.

     He would not say whether the controversial recommendations would be
acted on
     through legislation.

     Mr Walsh warns that widespread use of PC-based data scrambling is a
big
     concern for law enforcement.

     Criminals were already using computer encryption – programs that
encode data so
     it cannot be intercepted – to prevent police from monitoring phone
calls and e-mail.

     Widespread encryption to scramble sensitive data would make crimes
harder to
     prove in court, Mr Walsh warns.

     "The principle of non self-incrimination may well represent the
polite end of the
     possible range of responses," the report says.

     Mr Walsh's plan would clear the way for police to eavesdrop on
computer
     conversations at the source.

     A "target computer may be converted into a listening device" that
could seek out
     passwords and other private communications without the PC owner's
knowledge.

     EFA spokesman Greg Taylor said authorities might set up Trojan
horse software
     that would record all PC activity, including passwords and e-mail,
before
     encryption.

     "If you have access to someone's PC and you change their software
you can do
     anything you want," said Mr Taylor.

     "If it's connected to a network such as the Internet the PC could
transmit data to
     another site."

     Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman
said the proposals
     would be a worrying extension to police wiretap powers which were
already
     over-used.

     "We are concerned about the low level of protection in relation to
current judicial
     warrants for telephone eavesdropping," Mr O'Gorman said.

     Labor information technology spokeswoman Senator Kate Lundy said
"the whole
     issue of encryption is being used as a lever to justify further
invasions of privacy".














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Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html