Fed: NetAlert package effective, says Coonan

AAP General News (Australia)
09-07-2007
Fed: NetAlert package effective, says Coonan

By Rosemary Desmond

BRISBANE, Sept 7 AAP - Federal Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan says checks
had been completed on a government-funded internet filter and it had not been hacked into
by a teenager last month.

Three weeks ago, a 16-year-old schoolboy from Melbourne said it had taken him only
a few clicks to crack the government's new $84 million internet porn filter.

Tom Wood, a Year 10 student, said it took him about 30 minutes to break through the
government's new filter and his method ensured the software's toolbar icon was not deleted,
leaving his parents believing the filter was still working.

But Senator Coonan today said checks had shown the filter was not compromised, but
rather bypassed.

"What happened was administrative privileges were given in respect of the computer
and the young person with a piece of software was able to override the password," she
said in Brisbane today.

"But the actual filters have now all been tested again with the young person to make
sure they are not compromised.

"So, it's not as if the filter was hacked into."

But Senator Coonan acknowledged that there was no silver bullet to protect children
online and it was possible other children may have been able to bypass the filter.

The free internet filtering programs available on the net were part of a $189 million
package of measures including $43.5 million in extra funding to the Australian Federal
Police (AFP) to combat online child sex exploitation and $22 million over three years
to raise public awareness and educate parents.

"It's a very comprehensive package, but it needs to be seen as a whole package and
I think together all of those elements work very effectively to certainly minimise the
danger that young people have online," Senator Coonan said.

The government has launched a NetAlert booklet which outlines a range of tips for keeping
computers safe from scams such as identity theft and downloading spyware, as well as cyber
bullying, pornography and how to deal with unwanted contact.

Senator Coonan said federal government research showed around 40 per cent of children
who visited internet chatrooms said they had been contacted by someone they did not know
and 39 per cent said they had put a photograph of themself online, enabling them to be
identified instantly.

Another one in five teenagers aged between 13 and 17 said they had seen or heard of
people being bullied online or had abused people online, and more than half said they
had visited websites they knew their parents would not approve of.

"So, with this research and this campaign, we aim to shine the light on a world that
a lot of parents are only vaguely aware of," Senator Coonan said.

AAP rad/pjo/jsh/cdh

KEYWORD: FILTER

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