Australia biggest cyber criminal of all

Bernard Keane

"Unlike other countries, and especially the United States, where there’s not merely been an extensive debate but a presidential panel review and legislative changes to curb the powers of spy agencies, the Snowden revelations have occasioned no debate in Australia. That Australia is complicit in a planetary-scale, multi-system mechanism of mass surveillance; that our own agencies have engaged in electronic surveillance of countries that are ostensibly our allies and close partners; that we have used electronic surveillance that is claimed to be used to defeat terrorism and our potential military opponents for economic advantage and to help US corporations: all these facts have been met with a conspiracy of silence from the major political parties here. Worse, the media has allowed both sides to get away with using national security as an excuse not to debate whether what Australia is engaged in is legal, moral or serves its national interests."



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Turnbull launches government's cyber security strategy

Computerworld:

"The Australian Cyber Security Centre will relocate to enable “a more integrated partnership between the Government and its operational stakeholders, including businesses, the research and academic community and foreign partners collaborating with the ACSC,” the document states.

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) will continue to lead the ACSC."



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ASIO spied on terror

The Courier-Mail:

"THE nation’s intelligence agency was secretly listening in on phone calls and spying on the internet activity of an accused terrorist-financier from Logan months before the Australian Federal Police began surveillance of him, a court has heard.

Lawyers for Omar Succarieh told the Supreme Court in Brisbane this morning that they had slapped the nation’s intelligence agency with a subpoena demanding it hand over records of messages and phone calls they intercepted."



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Scott Morrison delays decision on sale

AdelaideNow:

 "Kidman and Co last year agreed to sell Anna Creek Station separately to the rest of the business because half of the station is located in the Woomera Prohibited Area."



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South Aussie cattle family to buy the famous Anna Creek cattle station

AdelaideNow:

"Anna Creek represents more than 25pc of the total land area of the Kidman properties. Its sale to the Williams group means the portion of the old S. Kidman and Co being owned by a foreign companies would rise from the existing level of 30 per cent to about 60pc of its total area.

The sale of the Kidman group to Chinese buyers was stopped by the Federal Government last November citing national interest concerns. These were understood to include the location of Anna Creek falling within part of the Woomera Prohibited Area."



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Firepower boosted to battle cyber hits

theAustralian:

 "The new money, to be spent over four years, will cover the cost of additional infrastructure and pay for an additional 101 cyber ­security specialists. The Australian Signals Directorate will assess the vulnerability of government agencies and advise them how to deal with emerging technology and threats."



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A nice RSF postcard from the Pacific

 Asia Pacific Report:

 "“New laws in 2014 and 2015 provide for prison sentences for whistleblowers who disclose information about conditions in the refugee centres or operations by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.”"



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Australia wants cyber spies on the offensive

 afr.com:

 "Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will acknowledge publicly for the first time the existence of Australia's offensive military cyber arsenal, as part of a $230 million plan to involve universities and businesses to fight the rise of criminal, terrorist and state-sponsored cybercrime."



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