One of the big question marks over the controversial “metadata retention” legislation requiring ISPs to keep detailed records of what Australians do online was how much money the government would cough up to help deal with the increased costs the plan would create. Now we have an official figure: $131 million.
Republished from Lifehacker
[related title=”GIZMODO ROUNDUP” tag=”bd2015″ items=”1″]That figure, revealed as part of a $450 million lift in anti-terrorism spending which is part of today’s federal budget, isn’t particularly good news for consumers. The broad estimate of how much will need to be spent to maintain a range of records over two years have ranged from $200 million 9at the low end) to $400 million (the broad consensus estimate). However you look at it, that’s going to mean increased costs for ISPs, and it’s hard not to imagine those being passed on to customers.
$296 million is being spent on IT upgrades for Australia’s intelligence agencies. If you’re a contractor with security skills, that could be good news.[The Conversation]
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