Anonymous Celebrates As Australia Puts Internet Surveillance Law on Standby

In the past couple of days, Anonymous hackers and the supporters of OpAustralia have launched distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks on the websites of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) and the one of the Defense Signals Directorate governed by the Department of Defence.

A few hours ago, Anonymous Australia celebrated its first victory when Attorney General Nicola Roxon announced that the draft of the Internet surveillance bill contested by the hacktivists would be sent to a parliamentary committee for reviewing.

Most likely, this means that the legislations will be stalled until after the next round of elections, which about to take place in 2013, The Sidney Morning Herald reports.

Politicians are highly aware that these types of measures usually attract a lot of public attention, especially criticism from rights groups.

In an interview she had with Fairfax Media in July, Roxon stressed that she was “not yet convinced that the cost and the return - the cost both to industry and the [civil liberties] cost to individuals - that we've made the case for what it is that people use in a way that benefits our national security.”

It’s uncertain at this point if Anonymous’ operation Op Australia and the awareness it raised among citizens has had anything to do with the decision, but the activists are considering it a victory.

“#OpAustralia Wins the first battle as Roxon puts web surveillance plans on ice,” Anonymous Australia wrote on Twitter.

The campaign went into full effect after the hacktivists issued a statement, warning internauts of the privacy threat posed by the proposed law.

“This horrifying breach of personal privacy must not be allowed to take shape,” they said at the time.

One day later, a hacker announced that he was able to gain access to the systems of the Australian Institute of Business Brokers. However, his claims have been denied by the organization’s representatives.