Tech giants face hefty fines under Australia cyber laws

Tech companies could face fines of up to Aus$10 million (USD 7.3 million) if they fail to hand over customer information or data to Australian police under tough cyber laws unveiled today.

The government is updating its communication laws to compel local and international providers to co-operate with law enforcement agencies, saying criminals were using technology, including encryption, to hide their activities.

The legislation, first canvassed by Canberra last year, will take into account privacy concerns by "expressly" preventing the weakening of encryption or the introduction of so-called backdoors, Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor said.

Taylor said over the past year, some 200 operations involving serious criminal and terrorism-related investigations were negatively impacted by the current laws.

"We know that more than 90 percent of data lawfully intercepted by the Australian Federal Police now uses some form of encryption," he added in a statement.

"We must ensure our laws reflect the rapid take-up of secure online communications by those who seek to do us harm."
"We are only asking them to do what they are capable of doing. We are not asking them to create vulnerabilities in their systems that will reduce the security because we know we need high levels of security in our communications."