Fergie's Tech Blog

Australia: NSW Police to Get Hacking Powers

Renai LeMay writes on ZDNet Australia:

The New South Wales Government has unveiled plans to give state police the power to hack into computers remotely, with owners potentially remaining in the dark about the searches for up to three years.

The new powers are part of a package introduced into parliament last week by Premier Nathan Rees. Broadly, they aim to give police the right to apply for covert search warrants from the Supreme Court to gather evidence in cases which could involve serious indictable offences punishable by at least seven years' imprisonment.

Judges issuing the new warrants could authorise owners not being told about the searches for up to three years (under exceptional circumstances), NSW Police Minister Tony Kelly said in a statement, with police having to apply for several extensions to get the full period.

Rees said the laws would enable computers to be searched, including access to "computers networked to a computer at the premises being searched".

posted by Fergie @ 3/09/2009 10:24:00 AM