| There is undoubtedly more than one office environment in which the general manager is a total buffoon who never qualified for that position in the first place, and chances are good employees might use their company e-mail to share such opinions or otherwise drift from work-related tasks. But the feeling of security that Australians once had that their angry missives were strictly between sender and recipient might soon be gone as the government ponders new national security legislation that would essentially hand employers carte blanche to spy on their plebs. Where, until now, Aussies only had to concern themselves with the tech guys discovering those filthy “hide the nightstick” photos on company laptops, the new rules would allow any e-mail and other computer communications to be monitored without notification or explanation.“We want to make sure they are safe from terrorist attack,” explained Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Gillard insists the new rules are necessary to protect Australia’s computer networks from cyber threats. Her opposition and civil rights groups argue that fighting terror isn’t a job for businesses, and that such powers would likely be used for eavesdropping by the paranoid, petty, fat men in the corner offices.
by SCOTT SAXON |
