The New South Wales Government has unveiled plans to give state police the power to hack into computers remotely, with owners potentially remaining in the dark about the searches for up to three years.
We have been fine-tuning this legislation to ensure that we can keep up with fast evolving technology
NSW Premier Nathan Rees
The new powers are part of a package introduced into parliament last week by Premier Nathan Rees. Broadly, they aim to give police the right to apply for covert search warrants from the Supreme Court to gather evidence in cases which could involve serious indictable offences punishable by at least seven years' imprisonment.
Judges issuing the new warrants could authorise owners not being told about the searches for up to three years (under exceptional circumstances), NSW Police Minister Tony Kelly said in a statement, with police having to apply for several extensions to get the full period.
Rees said the laws would enable computers to be searched, including access to "computers networked to a computer at the premises being searched".
"Police will also be able to gain remote access to computers for seven days at a time, up to a total of 28 days or longer in exceptional circumstances, to allow them, to undertake forensic off-site examiniation," Rees said.
"This could including cracking codes and searching computers for evidence of child porn, drug running and money laundering."
Offences covered by the new laws include the supply, manufacture or cultivation of drugs, possesson, manufacture or sale of firearms, money laundering, car or boat re-birthing and unauthorised access to modification of computer data or electronic communications.
Also included are theft (if carried out on an organised basis), violence causing grievous bodily harm or wounding, possession, manufacture or supply of false instruments, corruption, destruction of property, homicide and kidnapping.
"We have been fine-tuning this legislation to ensure that we can keep up with fast evolving technology," said Rees. "This places police on an equal footing with the criminals they are tracking."
The news comes after similar moves in Europe have recently been gathering pace. For example, in January the UK government said it had agreed to work with the European Union parliament on plans to extend police powers to conduct remote searches of computers.
However, not everyone has been happy with the initiatives, with privacy campaigners complaining and security vendors maintaining they would protect users' computers indiscriminately, regardless of who was attempting to break in to them.
The covert search warrants would be available to the NSW Police Force, the NSW Crime Commission and the Police Integrity Commission.
I guess it's farewell to our rights.
Why are these totalitarian (Stasi-style) powers required? Where are the safeguards to avoid abuse?
Police can already confiscate your car whenever the hell they feel like it, they'll just claim you were racing (too bad if your tyres screeched because of loose road surface, oil or sand on the road), and you've got no appeal.
It's clear the NSW Labor govt have to go. Just like the UK Labour govt they've been in too long and are giving the police whatever they ask for, not thinking about the intrusion into innocent people's lives.
Citing the UK as a precedent is for the ignorant in the audience, right? Look at the recent history of UK govt violating the Data Protection Act and being found guilty of violating European human rights laws. (No wonder some people refer to Gordon Brown as Stalin.)
Just because the UK govt is asking the EU to let it do something doesn't mean it will happen.
How can someone contest a secret warrant that has been requested because of a falsified affidavit? This is ridiculous.
It's like the terrorism hotline - another opportunity to have the cops harrass the neighbour who's dog took a dump on your lawn, just with some anonymous lies.
'including access to "computers networked to a computer at the premises being searched"' - so one warrant will allow searching every computer on the entire Internet now?
It's not surprising that surveillance laws may need updating, and I'd support reasonable measures, but this goes too far.
I was hoping we were finally starting to get past the totalitarian security "because I'm scared" nonsense that started with the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The world can never be perfect, so let's try and find a sensible balance please.
Don't destroy our free society.
Some crims will always get away, it's better that some do instead of innocent people being monitored by a police state. If you disagree, look at the history of repressive regimes you're advocating for, Nazi Germany, USSR, East Germany, Communist China, etc.
It's sad where Australia is coming to.