Forensic specialist Adam Daniel, who works for Forensic Data Services, says he's all for the release of the software. It was engineered by the spy agency and released under the General Public License, or GPL, at the AusCERT security conference earlier this year.
"I reckon it's great. It's a good initiative from them," he told ZDNet Australia . "It shows that they're getting right behind the whole open source thing".
Named FLAG, or Forensic and Log Analysis GUI (graphical user interface), the software aims to combine network traffic analysis with disk forensics tools.
However after some analysis, the tool was subjected to some criticism by Grant Bayley, the maintainer of the Wiretapped security software archive.
"The conclusion I came to is that the product isn't really ready," he said.
One thing he was unable to figure out was just why the signals intelligence agency had released the tool in the first place. Bayley says secret agencies are secret for a reason, and he was a little suspicious of the release to begin with.
"The first thing I did when I got the software was have a look through it to see if anything was hiding in it," he laughed. "It's sensible paranoia".
After determining that the software was free from trojans he set about evaluating it. He's diplomatic about the results.
"I'm holding back my judgment until I see a more refined version of the thing," he said.
Daniel, meanwhile, says the outputs from government agencies such as the United States National Security Agency and NASA have been invaluable.
"NASA have actually developed an enhanced loop-back driver for the Linux kernel that lets you mount partition tables on loop-back," he said, explaining that such drivers make his job a lot easier.
By my highly secretive internet infomation collection methods I can reliably inform you that one of DSD's responsibilities is Information Security. This entails investigating the security of electronic information. My intelligence collection methods inform me that DSD's mission perameters actually encompass supplying information security advice to the Australian Government and their Defence Forces! Heavens. Who would have thought that! Not since Nicky Hager climbed a fence have revelations into secret government agencies's responsibilities been so deeply exposed! By the use of my highly developed analysis skills, I can extrapolate that, with the release of a Forensic tool, they most probably actually USE it, in the investigation of Information Security! Yes! Hard to believe, but they will probably neither confirm nor deny this allegation. They even have a department called the "Information Security Group". Who could even begin to think what this cryptic department name could mean, and what their responsibilities are? I believe that these shadowy figures can even be coaxed out of their environment to give talks to IT security managers.
Don't tell anyone, but all sorts of information about this highly secret department can be found, hidden from public view, on their website. It can only be found be someone equipped with a data connection to the internet and a rare piece of software called an "Internet Browser"
Time to go and put my Tinfoil helmet on, before the black van pulls up in my driveway...