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Australian Police Given Power To Use Spyware
reek writes "An Australian newspaper has reported> that the contentious Surveillance Devices Act has been passed. The act will (according to the article) allow Federal Police to obtain warrants to secretly install spyware onto users computers enabling them to "monitor email, online chats, word processor and spreadsheets entries and even bank personal identification numbers and passwords.""
How long until this is padded on to the next patriot act?
I can just see Bush drooling over this.
Runnin' On Empty
1. The technology is flawed therefor it is useless. :)
No, there is no real connection between a technologies flaws in all conditions, and it's usefulness in some conditions.
2. The government will know everything about me.
Unless there is a warrant out on you, the government likely gives a two-hoots against you. This is NOT echelon
3. It will be easy to remove by any idiot.
Not, likely. The technologies to make difficult to know that it is running on your machine are well known. And truly most idiots do not know what is running on their machine, and criminals tend not to be criminal masterminds. Mostly they are just stupid criminals.
4. There are already laws.
No, monitoring laws are very technology specific. Monitoring software requires it's own laws.
5. There is no reason to do this.
Powerful encryption requires LE to do something like this in order to capture keys and information to be used against the badgus.
6. Government intrusion bad!
Well, yes. That is why the 4th Amendment exists in the US, and there are pretty powerful privacy laws in most western democratic societies. But All of them carve out exceptions to prevent activity that is harmful for the social good. (criminal and seditious behavior for the most part). The difficult part is how to balance between a blind and ineffectual enforcement activity and an all knowing overly effectual (we all sin, so some say. Holiday Greetings all!) government enforcement activity.