According to reports, Interior Minister Peter Dutton (Daton) is preparing to expand the power of spy agencies in Australia. Federal Interior Minister Dutton said that he is currently considering new plans to expand the power of Australian spy agencies to collect intelligence and shut down domestic cyber attacks. The Australian spy agency is called The Australian Signals Directorate, and they are considering working with the power, water and telecommunications sectors to help protect against foreign hackers. Interior Minister Dutton said that although the Australian Signal Bureau does not have the technical ability to do so at this stage, we will first put the issue on the agenda to be discussed.
In April 2018, the heads of the National Defense and Home Affairs Department discussed the issue of new powers to the Australian Signaling Authority, who wanted permission to monitor Australian citizens for the first time. According to reports, the then Prime Minister Turnbull explicitly rejected the proposal at the National Security Conference. He did not agree to use the Australian Signal Bureau to monitor Australians in the country.
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