Australia’s Security Chief Says It’s Time To Start Forcing Companies To Break Chat Room Encryption

More than a half-decade ago, the Australian government gave itself more powers. These new powers allowed the government to compel decryption — something far easier said than done, especially if existing encryption was expected to still protect everyone else but the government’s targets.

Shortly after the law was passed, Australia’s federal law enforcement and national security agencies started wielding it against service providers. The first wave was noticeable, but subsequent efforts have flown under the radar for the most part, whether due to extreme amounts of secrecy or the new powers not being quite as possible as the Australian government hoped.

Three years after the enactment of the law, the powers and their side effects were reviewed by federal overseers. The review came to a couple of unsurprising conclusions. First, the joint committee noted the program suffered from a lack of rigorous oversight, which is pretty ironic when the statement is being made by one of the program’s oversight bodies. Second, it said the law was great and had no downsides, a conclusion it reached by… simply stating there were no downsides.

“Agencies have made the case that these powers remain necessary to combat serious national security threats, and some of the worst fears held by industry at the time of passage have not been realised,” committee chair and Liberal Senator James Paterson said.

Really refreshing to see a government body declare an unprecedented expansion of powers to be a net benefit for all mankind. What’s hilarious is that there are actually downsides, but since not every outcome has been negative, the new powers are somehow an unmitigated success. The committee chair did not say “none” of the “worst fears” stated by the industry in opposition to these powers have come to pass. Senator James Patterson says only “some” have “not been realised,” which suggests others have been “realised.”

Apparently, getting its way isn’t sitting right with the current head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Companies must be made to comply more often and more quickly. As Sarah Ferguson reports for Australia’s ABC News, ASIO believes it’s time to fully flex powers that have apparently only been partially flexed previously.