Oz police to roll out 'NSA-type' surveillance tech by next year

The Australian Federal Police is reportedly set to introduce the controversial surveillance technology, capable of collecting and storing emails and other information sent via computers, by the next year.

The Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) technology is expected to go for a trial in February followed by a complete roll out in April.

According to news.com.au, the federal police has insisted that the tech is to be used as a 'system tool' within the organization, pointing that the technology is common among commercial and government IT systems throughout the world.

Meanwhile, the US-based Centre for Democracy and Technology described the technology as no different as postal employees opening envelopes and reading letters inside.

The report said that the US' NSA has used the same technology for its controversial internet surveillance because it can collect data in real time and capture it at 10 gigabits per second.

This comes amidst worldwide allegations made against the US' spy agency and its allies, including UK, Germany and Australia, of 'illegal' mass surveillance, while the Oz Prime Minister Tony Abott insisted that Australia's agencies acted within the law and there were proper privacy safeguards in place, the report added.