[AusNOG] Dutton decryption bill

[Paul Wilkins]

10 September date for submissions is inexorably edging closer, and like
most other people with other calls on their time than straightening out the
government's rough drafts of legislation, I'm still working my way through
the bill, and about half way through and after cross referencing the
Surveillance Devices Act, it becomes apparent that the scope to grant
emergency data retrieval beyond judicial writ is eye widening large, to
whit:


Where the bill confers the following power on "authorised officers under
the Surveillance Devices Act 2004"

*50 After subsection 28(1)*
Insert:
(1A) A law enforcement officer may apply to an appropriate authorising
officer for an emergency authorisation for access to data held in a
computer (the target computer) if, in the course of an investigation
of a relevant offence, the law enforcement officer reasonably
suspects that:
(a) an imminent risk of serious violence to a person or
substantial damage to property exists; and
(b) access to data held in the target computer is immediately
necessary for the purpose of dealing with that risk; and
(c) the circumstances are so serious and the matter is of such
urgency that access to data held in the target computer is
warranted; and
(d) it is not practicable in the circumstances to apply for a
computer access warrant.

(1B) The target computer may be any one or more of the following:
(a) a particular computer;
(b) a computer on particular premises;
(c) a computer associated with, used by or likely to be used by, a
person (whose identity may or may not be known).

You'd expect the breath taking reach of these emergency powers to lie in
the hands of at least Deputy Commissioners of Police.

However authorised officers under the Surveillance Devices Act include the
following:

5(c) a senior
executive AFP
employee the
chief officer
authorises under
subsection (5)

10(c) a staff member
of ACLEI who
is an SES
employee the
chief officer
authorises under
subsection (5)

5(c) a Superintendent
or a person
holding
equivalent rank

10(d) an executive
level officer of
the Commission
whom the chief
officer
authorises under
subsection (5)

15(b) an executive
level member of
the Staff of the
Commission the
chief officer
authorises under
subsection (5)

20executive
level member of
staff of the
Commission
(within the
meaning of that
Act), the chief
officer
authorises under
subsection (5)


22(d) an executive
level sworn
IBAC Officer
(within the
meaning of that
Act) the chief
officer
authorises under
subsection (5)

Kind regards

Paul Wilkins

On Wed, 22 Aug 2018 at 12:42, <trs80 at ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au> wrote:

> And it covers anyone running a website in Australia:
>
> https://www.afr.com/news/cyber-security-laws-to-cover-all-businesses-angus-taylor-confirms-20180814-h13zdo
>
> --
> # TRS-80              trs80(a)ucc.gu.uwa.edu.au #/ "Otherwise Bub here
> will do \
> # UCC Wheel Member     http://trs80.ucc.asn.au/ #|  what squirrels do
> best     |
> [ "There's nobody getting rich writing          ]|  -- Collect and hide
> your   |
> [  software that I know of" -- Bill Gates, 1980 ]\  nuts." -- Acid Reflux
> #231 /
> _______________________________________________
> AusNOG mailing list
> AusNOG at lists.ausnog.net
> http://lists.ausnog.net/mailman/listinfo/ausnog
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ausnog.net/pipermail/ausnog/attachments/20180901/bb898350/attachment.html>