Australian Federal Police to Get Powers to Hack, Take Over Accounts and Networks, and Delete Content

MostCynical writes:

Australian Federal police and organised crime investigators will be able to take over the online accounts of international paedophile rings, terrorists and drug-traffickers operating on the "dark web", under new laws to be introduced in Federal Parliament.

The Australian Federal Police and Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission will also be able to hack into people's computer networks and modify or delete harmful content such as child exploitation material.

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the new powers were needed to "shine a light into the darkest recesses of the online world and hold those hiding there to account".

"Without enhancing the AFP and ACIC's powers, we leave them with outdated ways of attacking an area of criminality that is only increasing in prevalence," Mr Dutton said.

The new laws, which will be introduced to Federal Parliament on Thursday, will create three new powers for the AFP and the ACIC to break into the networks of serious criminals.

Under a new "account takeover power", the two agencies will be able to take control of a person's online account for the purposes of gathering evidence about criminal activity.

The AFP and ACIC will also be able to apply for "network activity warrants" to collect intelligence on the most serious and harmful criminal networks operating online, including on the dark web, building a picture of how criminal networks are operating online.

There will also be "data disruption warrants" giving the two agencies the power to modify data belonging to individuals suspected of criminal activity to stop them from distributing harmful material.

The Canberra Times reports that the minister recently established an Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, bringing together the AFP and other agencies to target online child abuse.

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