There was a furore in the Australian parliament when the ruling party introduced the Assistance and Access Bill in August 2018. In essence, this required software developers and hardware makers to assist official investigations under order of a technical assistance request.
The goal of the watered down Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 is protection of national security, which had previously been stymied by encryption technology.
When it finally passed, there were predictable howls from industry.After a while, decent Australians dropped their guards on the basis that government surveillance in Australia would not affect them anyway.
They may not have known the extent of surveillance in Australia.
Prepaid mobile providers capture your identity when you are on a call, note who the other party is, and record your location at the time. Moreover, Australian police regularly access these logs in the legitimate pursuit of their duties.
Much the same applies to your internet activities, according to WikiLeaks and other sources. Federal, state and territory police, security agencies, and those that collect government revenue all have access. The controls are there to manage government surveillance in Australia. However, the insider threat is also real.
If this information is available to our government, then it is also potentially open to any hacker or disgruntled government employee. Australian software and hardware companies thought this threat was real enough to stop the bill, although they may have had their eyes more on future foreign orders.
Someone Might Be Using These Methods to Shadow You Now
With all this information out there in cyberspace, there is a possibility someone might be tracing your movements on your phone, or carefully monitoring the financial sites you visit with a view to hacking into your accounts.
Computer security has crept up on us as the weakest point in our lives. How secure are your user names and passwords? If you are negligent in the way you manage them, then your bank may not compensate you for phishing losses.
Perhaps It Is Time to Take Professional Advice
AusCovert Investigations uses only the best cyber-security experts to implement surveillance countermeasures on client computers. You pay for what you get in our line of business. However, one successful hack could cost you a whole lot more.
Call us now at 1800 553 788 in Queensland, Australia if you feel you might need help fast. If you suspect your call might be overheard, you can send us a silent message right here.