I believe that this is because the US could possibly lose the ability to store everyone’s information, so I believe Australia is the bunny to do it for them and pass it along….. Just my two cents worth….

Australia Passes Mandatory Data Retention Laws

Telecommunication firms and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Australia will soon be required to store the metadata of their customers’ communications for two years.

The requirement comes after both major Australian political parties backed the controversial data retention bill, which permits governmental access to the data, without the need for a search warrant.

Metadata Storage

The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2015 cleared a major hurdle this week in Australia after it secured 43 votes to 16 in the Australian Senate. It will then almost certainly will be rubber stamped in the lower House of Representatives and become law.

Both the ruling Liberal Party of Australia and the opposition Australian Labor Party have backed the bill, with the only opposition coming from the Australian Green party, and several independents. The Greens argued strongly against the law, saying it would entrench “passive, mass surveillance”.

Read more @ http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/e-regulation/australia-mandatory-data-retention-laws-165263

Wow, they are serious about wanting to spy on every facet of our lives!!

NBN Co heads west  

Read more @ http://trenchless-australasia.com/news/nbn_co_heads_west/092030/

 

Now this is an absolute LIE….. there was no referendum asking us what we wanted…. They just did it anyway…..  If they had a referendum then this bill would have been thrown out ASAP.  They probably paid hackers to vote in the poll….. because I never even heard of this poll….. and I bet a few million other Aussies didn’t either….!

Data retention scheme has majority support from Australians

New Lowy Institute polling released today shows that the Australian Government's data retention ('metadata') laws, which passed the parliament last night, have the support of a clear majority of Australians.

When asked whether 'legislation which will require Australian telecommunications companies to retain data about communications such as phone calls, emails and internet usage, but not their content' is justified, 63% of the adult population say it is 'justified as part of the effort to combat terrorism and protect national security'. Only one-third (33%) say it 'goes too far in violating citizens' privacy and is therefore not justified.'

Younger Australians (18-29) are more likely to say the legislation is not justified (47%), but this age group is divided about the policy, with 50% saying it is justified. 

'Australians appear to accept some infringements on their privacy in the interests of fighting terrorism and protecting national security,' said Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove today. 'This result is consistent with 2013 Lowy Institute polling which found that most Australians believed the government had struck about the right balance between protecting the rights of citizens and fighting terrorism.'  

Read more @ http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/03/27/Data-retention-scheme-has-majority-support-from-Australians.aspx

 

Optus admits 'failure' in not identifying three big security incidents

Optus has admitted to not taking reasonable steps to secure the private information and personal security of about 300,000 customers in three separate incidents last year.

Optus' admission, contained in what's known as an enforceable undertaking to the federal privacy commissioner, follows the Senate passing the Data Retention Bill on Thursday night, which requires all Australian telcos to store customer metadata for two years.

The bill was passed despite fears the data could be hacked if it was not secured correctly by telcos, which historically have a poor reputation in Australia for keeping information secure.

In the first incident, Optus mistakenly released the names, addresses and mobile phone numbers of about 122,000 Optus customers in the White Pages online directory without the consent of those customers.

The issue, which occurred due to a "coding error", also resulted in the majority of those customers' information also being published in various print editions of the White Pages.

The second incident concerned a flaw that left customers vulnerable to 'spoofing' attacks, where an unauthorised party could potentially access and use customer voicemail accounts messages, including being able to listen to recorded messages and change settings and preferences.

The third incident concerned Optus "deliberately" leaving the management ports of customer-issued modems open, incorrectly assuming that they were only accessible by Optus staff for network management purposes.

In addition, Optus issued 197,000 Netgear modems and 111,000 Cisco modems to its customers with factory default settings, including user default names and passwords in place.

"In each case, there was a failure by Optus to detect the incidents; the incidents were brought to Optus' attention by third parties," states the enforceable undertaking, which was signed by Optus chief executive Allen Lew and accepted by privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim.

"This resulted in Optus experiencing substantial delays in taking action to contain each incident, which also prolonged the duration of the risk to affected individuals."

Read more @ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/it-pro/security-it/optus-admits-failure-in-not-identifying-three-big-security-incidents-20150327-1m98z1.html

Take a look at the man’s face in the article below…..egads!  What an evil face!  I think he may not be a Goblin, he could be an Ogre!

Senate passes controversial metadata laws

Australians will have two years of their metadata stored by phone and internet providers after the Abbott government's controversial data retention laws passed Parliament.

But it's still unclear how much will be added to internet users' monthly bills.

The latest suite of national security legislation passed the upper house on Thursday evening with bipartisan support.

The government believes the laws, which allow about 85 security and policing agencies to access two years of an individual's metadata, are crucial to thwart terrorism attacks and prevent serious crime.

The scheme is expected to cost up to $400 million a year, but the government won't reveal its share until the May budget.

Read more @ http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/senate-passes-controversial-metadata-laws-20150327-1m8q3v.html

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~