In episode 18 of The Privacy Blog Podcast for March 2014 I talk about:
Attorney General's new war on encrypted web services - Security - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au
Australia’s Attorney-General’s department is proposing that all providers of Internet services ensure that they can decrypt user communications when so ordered. Any services where the provider has the keys will obviously be able to do this.
Australians may want to start to start taking steps to protect themselves now.
End to end encryption is your friend. At least that way, you need to be informed and compelled if they want access to your data.
Another important step is to get your “in the clear” communications into another jurisdiction using a VPN service like Anonymizer Universal.
Finally, let your voice be heard on this issue by reaching out to your members of parliament.
Lance Cottrell is the Founder and Chief Scientist of Anonymizer. Follow me on Facebook and Google+.
Choice, an Australian privacy group, has released a paper on how to avoid geo-blocking and price discrimination against Australians.
Their research has shown that prices, especially on IT purchases, are significantly higher for Australians than Americans, even before considering shipping costs.
Using a VPN based privacy service like Anonymizer Universal allows Australians (or anyone else) to use a US IP address to get the best prices.