Tech firms to join in fight against terror

TECH giants will be forced to unlock terrorists’ deadly secrets under controversial new laws that will reclaim the advantage in the fight against jihadists.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will today reveal the Government will give spooks and law enforcement agencies new powers to access encrypted messaging.

The reforms will ensure Australia has similar laws its Five Eyes alliance counterparts — Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Outdated laws are putting Australians at risk of a deadly terror attack. Advice from ASIO is that encryption on the internet has affected technical intelligence coverage in at least one in 10 of its priority cases.

In some cases it has taken a week to decrypt messages between terrorists because current laws were written before the explosion of social media platforms.

The new legislation will modernise powers for law enforcement agencies, but the reforms’ first principles mean internet companies, device manufacturers and social media platforms will be first asked to hand over encrypted data.

It is understood the Government wants tech companies to take responsibility for the safety of Australians.