The Sydney Morning Herald
ALLOWING companies to intercept their employees' emails without their consent, as proposed by the Federal Government, would do little to protect the nation's critical infrastructure from a potentially devastating attack from hackers and terrorists, according to cyber security experts.
The assessment came as privacy and civil liberties groups expressed alarm that the new powers could allow employers to conduct intrusive searches that had little to do with security.
As revealed in the Herald yesterday, the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, said he was considering the new legislation in the wake of growing concern among security authorities about an attack on the vulnerable computer networks that underpin essential services and industries in the modern economy. Such critical infrastructure includes the financial system, power grid, telecommunications and transport networks, among others, employing millions of workers.
Asha Rao, an information security expert at RMIT University in Melbourne, said the policy was little more than a Band-Aid to a more pervasive problem. "Basically, these companies need to get their information systems up to scratch," said Dr Rao. "I'm worried that this law removes the onus from companies to have up-to-date security systems."
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