Category: Politics

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Talking end-to-end encryption on ABC RN Breakfast

ABC logoAustralia is opening a new campaign in the seemingly never-ending Cyptowars. This time, the target is end-to-end encryption.

Our favourite attorney-general, Senator George Brandis QC, wants “the cooperation of companies like Apple and Facebook and Google and so on” to help the government break into encrypted communications. That cooperation would presumably extend to messaging apps that use end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, and so on.

And cooperation would be ensured, thanks to new legal sanctions.

Brandis says he’s not interested in putting mandatory “back door” access into the encryption used by messaging platforms. But how can that be true when he’s asking for the tech companies to be able to provide access to customers’ encrypted messages? That’s exactly what a back door is.

Anyway, this morning I was interviewed on this topic by Fran Kelly on the ABC’s RN Breakfast. We spoke for more than seven minutes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.9MB)

The audio is ©2017 Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is being served directly from the ABC website.

For more analysis, try George Brandis’s salvo in cryptowars could blow a hole in architecture of the internet, by the Guardian’s Paul Farrell.

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Talking civil use of metadata on ABC 105.7 Darwin

ABC logoWhen mandatory telecommunications data retention legislation was first introduced — the so-called “metadata” retention laws — Australia’s favourite Attorney-General Senator George Brandis QC stressed that it wouldn’t be used for civil proceedings. Guess what just happened?

On Tuesday, Brandis’ office announced a review of the laws to see whether retained metadata could be used — wait for it — in civil proceedings.

On Wednesday I wrote about this in a ZDNet column titled Brandis rushes to release telco metadata for civil proceedings.

And on Wednesday afternoon I spoke about it with Kate O’Toole on ABC 105.7 Darwin. Here’s that conversation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

This audio is ©2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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Announcing “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading”

[This literary tour de force will be streamed live from stilgherrian.com/edict/live4/, at Spreaker, and via Spreaker apps.]

Pauline Hanson on Channel Nine's Today, 3 July 2016

On Saturday night, I’m recording and streaming live a special edition of The 9pm Edict podcast the likes of which you’ve never heard before. The voters of Australia are to blame. I need your help to undo some of the damage.

The 9pm Edict cover art version 2, 150 pixels

The results of Australia’s federal election held last Saturday are not yet clear. One of the few certainties, however, is that Queensland’s voters have propelled the red-headed figurehead of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation into the Senate.

Senator Pauline Hanson. Get used to it, Australia.

One Nation’s full policy agenda isn’t just racist and anti-Islamic. Sure, it includes banning the burqa and niquab in public, banning halal certification, and a Royal Commission into Islam, but there’s much more.

How about scrapping all international treaties? Introducing Citizens Initiated Referenda, compensation for wind turbine syndrome, and euthanasia? Re-introducing trade tariffs? The list goes on.

Hanson is assertive. Treating her as just an amusing sideshow would be a mistake. She’ll push her party’s agenda in the Senate, so we’ll need to push back.

We need to understand.

We need to take a closer look.

We need to go inside the mind or Pauline Hanson’s One Nation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.3MB)

One Nation’s Policies Presented As They Should Be

This Saturday 9 July at 2000 AEST, I will start drinking Queensland’s own Bundaberg Rum and read to you, verbatim, the entire One Nation policy agenda. Every word.

This literary tour de force will be streamed live from stilgherrian.com/edict/live4/, and via Spreaker.

Continue reading “Announcing “The 9pm One Nation Policy Reading””
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My wisdom was recognised as Tweet of the Day

Last week Malcolm Turnbull claimed that Labor was declaring war on business, and that the first casualties were jobs.

Tweet of the Day, 3 June 2016It’s a symptom of the government’s supposed need to look strong and tough on difficult issues. Hence the war on drugs, the war on terror, the war on poverty and so on.

How unimaginative, I thought.

I expressed this opinion on Twitter, as is the fashion.

“Imagine being so bereft of ideas that the only metaphor you can come up with is war,” I tweeted.

That tweet was retweeted 38 times, and scored 36 likes. That’s far fewer than tweets tweeted by major celebrities and the like, but for me it’s at the high end of the scale.

The next morning, 3 June, @aksana tweeted to tell me that my tweet was chosen as the Sydney Morning Herald Tweet of the Day.

She include a photo of the printed newspaper, because Tweet of the Day doesn’t seem to be published on the SMH website.

All this should have been included in last week’s Weekly Wrap, but I forgot. I’ve fixed that now, though.

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Talking AusCERT 2016 infosec on ABC Gold Coast

ERT 2016: part of the stage for AusCERT 2016

ABC logoAs careful readers will know, I’ve spent most of the week on Australia’s Gold Coast at the AusCERT 2016 Conference. That piqued the interest of ABC Gold Coast.

On Thursday morning I recorded a chat about various security and cybercrime topics of interest, which was edited down to this 16-minute conversation.

The presenter is Nicole Dyer.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (9.0MB)

This audio is ©2016 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

[Photo: Part of the stage for AusCERT 2016, photographed on 25 May 2016.]