AGD: silence about metadata retention plans is about security

The Attorney-General's Department has told The Register national security considerations lie behind it discouraging telcos and ISPs discussing their data retention plans. Last week, The Register reported that the department was telling the sector if companies discussed their data retention implementation plans with other …

[Mark 85]

Pubically available mailing list archive?

And they want and expect secrecy?

[Fred Flintstone]

Re: Pubically available mailing list archive?

I suspect they'll now accuse the poor author of backdooring their "security" (sorry, bear with me while I stop laughing, ah, OK, back again) instead admitting to the fact that they are, well, idiots, really, and left the backdoor open by themselves...

Some of the people I find involved in security should not even be allowed to pronounce the very word without being required to wash out their mouths with soap.

[LaeMing]

Nothing to fear nothing to hide.

My arse.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Nothing to fear nothing to hide.

Not quite sure what you were saying here, although the combination of text and icon could suggests that you ought to avoid spicy food..

:)

[Mad Chaz]

Ah the old "but the bad guys!" excuse.

I think it's about time someone turned around and said "exactly, we want to know what YOU are doing"

[Gordon 10]

Of course we don't want the crims to get hold of it

Of course everyone's a potential crim so no one can take a look at it.

Is this a precursor to setting up a pre-crime division?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why did you tell them that their mailing list archives are public?

[Anonymous Coward]

If they should turn around and take the archive private, I think Madame Streissand shall make an appearance. Wouldn't be the first time for an organization to pull that and have to return it public in a shaming.

[Anonymous Coward]

Madame Streisand may even come over and whack you around the ears for misspelling her name.

And for calling her "Madame" :)

[Morrie Wyatt]

Going for the classics!

Ahh, the tried and tested and certain (to fail) Security by Obscurity.

If only the "Bad guys" were like the weasels from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

They might just laugh themselves to death.

<sigh>

[Anonymous Coward]

Some members of the Ausnog list have the impression that I am “lurking” on the list, and therefore breaking the list's rules by reporting its discussions in public.

The information used in the previous story was obtained from the mailing list's Web archive, which is publicly-available. I am not a subscriber to the Ausnog mailing list.

The ride never ends.