Australia will force tech companies to help cops view encrypted data – CNET
Australia will force tech companies to help cops view encrypted data
The country’s cyber security chief insists it won’t involve a back door to bypass encryption.
Australia won’t force tech companies to include built-in back doors to bypass encryption, its cyber security minister insists.
Michael Dodge / Getty ImagesAustralia will reveal in the coming weeks new laws that will force tech companies to help police access the encrypted data of suspected criminals, but is ambiguous on how those powers will work.
Angus Taylor, the country’s cyber security minister, wouldn’t directly answer Australia’s ABC News’ repeated question on whether surveillance codes would be dropped into mobile devices.
“It includes whatever techniques are relevant, and that’s how the current system works,” he said. “It’s not appropriate to have a world where we can do this for analogue data, analogue communication, but we can’t do it in the digital world.”
However, he insisted that it won’t involve a built-in back door to bypass encryption.
“There’s been ideas around for decades that you should create some kind of key that law enforcement can get access to, to access any data at any time — that’s not what we’re proposing here,” Taylor told ABC.
The laws will apply to Australian telecommunications companies like Telstra and Optus, in addition to international tech companies like Facebook, Apple and Google. They will face major fines if they fail to comply.
Draft legislation will be presented in the coming weeks, followed by a period of public consultation.
Last year, the country’s then-attorney-general, George Brandis, said Australia wanted to cooperate with service providers to “ensure reasonable assistance is provided to law enforcement and security agencies.”
In May, US lawmakers introduced a bill that would stop the government from forcing companies to create back doors for law enforcement.
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