Image: Asha McLean/ZDNet
Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Angus Taylor has told the CeBIT Australia conference in Sydney on Thursday that the federal government's push to access encrypted communication is one of his highest priorities, but he refused to offer a date of when legislation can be expected.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, along with his then Attorney-General George Brandis[1], announced plans in July to introduce legislation[2] that would force internet companies to assist law enforcement in accessing messages sent with end-to-end encryption.
Questioning if the proposed legislation was technically possible, ZDNet asked the prime minister if the laws of mathematics would trump[3] the laws of Australia.
"The laws of Australia prevail in Australia, I can assure you of that," Turnbull told ZDNet. "The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia."
During his media rounds, Turnbull made sure he let Australia know his intention was to protect the nation from terrorism and criminal rings such as those involved in paedophilia, rather than nutting out the technical specs of the laws modelled on the UK's snoopers' charter[4].
While no further detail was offered on Thursday, Taylor said the Coalition still intends to introduce legislation that would force companies to bend to the government's will.
Pointing to the take-down of Phantom Secure[5], a criminal enterprise allegedly servicing the organised crime market with secure, encrypted communications, Taylor said it highlights the potency of strong encryption in the hands of criminal and terrorist organisations. He said strong encryption is no longer just accessible to such groups, rather it is becoming increasingly publicly available in many messaging applications