_________________________________________________________________________
GET THE FREE NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY APP FOR YOUR PHONE AND TABLET
What if your Facebook and Insta pics ended up in a facial recognition system intended to stop terrorism? And what if those pics could be shared between government agencies as a way of verifying that you are who you say you are?
It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. As of today, your citizenship photos can be shared between government agencies as part of the first phase of the Facial Verification System (FVS). That system will soon be expanded to include other official photos like the ones used in drivers licences, passports and visa applications.
In the past, biometric information – that is, information on a person’s physical or behavioural characteristics, like fingerprints for example – was only collected on arrival to the country, or in the event you were charged with a crime.
The new system applies to anyone who has had official photographs taken for government-issued documentation. That is, if a government agency suspects you of a crime or of identity fraud, it can apply to access your official photos. You do not need to be consulted or give consent. You cannot opt out of the new system.
The system isn’t a centralised database, but is an information-sharing arrangement between the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Facial recognition to be used more and more
The Government hasn’t told us what agencies will have access to FVS in the future – we only know that more agencies will have access to your photos in the future.
“The Australian Government is currently working with the states and territories to explore the scope for police and road agencies to participate in the system,” a spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department told Hack. “When new participating agencies are brought online, [the department] will update its website accordingly.”
The Justice Minister Michael Keenan said facial recognition is needed, because name-based checking alone isn’t sufficient.
The Face Verification Service provides the ability to match a person’s photo against an image on one of their existing government records.”
“We know that people previously convicted of terrorism offences in Australia have used false identities to assist in planning terrorist attacks. This includes purchasing ammunition and chemicals to make explosives and pre-paid mobile phones to communicate anonymously,” Minister Keenan said.
The Government will also be able to use the system to identify unknown suspects of serious crimes like terrorism, money-laundering, murder and child sexual exploitation.
Only a few select members of the agencies will have access to the system, which the Government said is a protection against its misuse.
‘Unprecedented level of access to information’
In November last year, the then Attorney-General of the ACT, Simon Corbell, raised concerns about the system during a meeting of state and federal leaders.
Parts of the Commonwealth Government’s proposal, specifically around facial identification, will give law enforcement and other agencies an unprecedented and extraordinary level of access to biometric and biographical information.”
The system could eventually include non-official photos like those taken from Facebook and Instagram, a Senate inquiry into the system heard late last year.
At the time, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam asked if there was any law that could prevent the system from ingesting photographs from publicly available sites, like Facebook.
Andrew Rice from the Attorney-General’s Department answered:
It’s possible that still images out of these kinds of environments could be put into the system. That would be a choice for the users of the system.”
He also said it would be possible to source still images from things like CCTV, but that the poor quality of the images would potentially make them unviable.
Use of system can be audited
The Justice Minister said that there would be checks and balances to protect privacy.
“Participating agencies must have a lawful basis to use facial images, must enter into formal data sharing agreements, and be subject to independent audits and oversight,” Mr Keenan said.
But privacy advocates aren’t too impressed with the new arrangement.
Vice-Chair of the Australian Privacy Foundation, David Vaile, told Hack that there has been a “gradual and incremental encroachment” on privacy over successive governments.
Australians have no legal right to privacy and no right to be told if their data has been breached, David said.
We’re fully exposed. We’re moving towards warrantless, suspicionless mass surveillance.”
“That trend has accelerated under the War on Terror,” he said, adding that officials have been trying to convince the public that trading away privacy is necessary to combat new threats to national security.
What happens if your info is hacked?
David is worried about what happens if your biometric data is hacked.
Take credit card fraud, for example. If your credit card is hacked, you can cut it up and request a new number. But if hackers use your image in identity fraud, and that triggers airport alerts and terror charges, you’re in a bind.
“You can’t change it, you can’t revoke it,” David said. “You’re stuck with it.”
The new system doesn’t require legislation to come into effect – that is, it doesn’t need to be voted on in Parliament, it can simply be enacted as an arrangement between agencies.
The Federal Government is talking to the states and territories about getting drivers licence photos, which falls under state powers.
Source:http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/facial-recognition-sytem-up-and-running/8031558
_______________________________________