ANAO audit flags issues in CASA’s surveillance Federal An audit from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has found issues with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) surveillance approach, although ANAO acknowledges CASA
Facial recognition company trialled by law enforcement breached privacy: commissioner November 4, 2021 By Jackson Graham Federal A facial recognition company that provided trials to law enforcement agencies has breached Australians’ privacy, Australian information commissioner Angelene Falk says. US company Clearview AI
Smart street furniture in Australia: a public service or surveillance and advertising tool? July 1, 2021 By Justine Humphry, Chris Chesher and Sophia Maalsen Communications & Technology Smart street furniture – powered and digitally networked furniture that collects and generates data – is arriving in Australia. It comes in a variety of
Major review of intelligence laws makes ‘controversial’ recommendations December 4, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Defence The government has released ex senior public servant Dennis Richardson’s landmark review into the legislation governing Australia’s intelligence community. Richardson, a former head of the
Top spy agency values imagination and diversity, according to Rachel Noble September 1, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Federal Australian Signals Directorate head Rachel Noble has asserted that the foreign cyber-intelligence agency cannot conduct mass surveillance on Australians, in response to concerns over the
How to hide from a drone – the subtle art of ‘ghosting’ in the age of surveillance July 30, 2020 By Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick Editors' Picks Drones of all sizes are being used by environmental advocates to monitor deforestation, by conservationists to track poachers, and by journalists and activists to document
Explainer: what does the law say about secret recordings and the public interest? June 17, 2020 By Rick Sarre Communications & Technology Nine’s 60 Minutes program recently aired surveillance footage appearing to show Victorian minister Adem Somyurek, an upper house MP in the Andrews government and a
Home Affairs’ new border processing system uses facial and fingerprint recognition June 4, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Federal The Department of Home Affairs has launched a new biometric system which would allow it to match the facial images and fingerprints of travellers wanting
Privacy commissioner launches inquiry into police use of facial recognition software January 30, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Communications & Technology The Australian privacy commissioner will investigate whether a facial recognition app utilised by 600 American police departments is being used by police in Australia. Facial
Councils urged to bake digital rights into smart cities as CCTV and facial recognition raise fears November 19, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Australian advocacy group Digital Rights Watch is calling out local councils over the “surveillance technology, data collection and privacy invasion” that is on the rise
Victoria sends identity data to national facial recognition system to stay ‘ahead of the pack’ September 17, 2019 By Stephen Easton Communications & Technology The Victorian government is uploading data from driver licenses to the federal government’s National Driver Licence Facial Recognition Solution but will only allow it to
Ombudsman praises ‘compliance cultures’ but agencies still mishandle stored comms September 16, 2019 By Shannon Jenkins Communications & Technology Law enforcement and intelligence agencies must verify the lawfulness of stored communications before handing them to investigators, according to the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
CCTV systems could hurt councils with lax security and privacy, auditor-general warns October 2, 2018 By Stephen Easton Features Local governments have enthusiastically boarded the public CCTV bandwagon in recent years, snapping up federal and state grants to set up security cameras in towns
Spyware merchants: the risks of outsourcing government hacking July 25, 2017 By The Mandarin Communications & Technology An Australian Tax Office staffer recently leaked on LinkedIn a step-by-step guide to hacking a smartphone. The documents, which have since been removed, indicate that
