Quoting from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-28/afp-officer-accessed-journalists-call-records-in-metadata-breach/8480804
AFP officer accessed journalist's call records in metadata breach
Updated 35 minutes ago
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VIDEO: AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin confirms phone metadata breach against journalist. (ABC News)
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An investigator with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) sought and acquired the call records of a journalist without a warrant, Commissioner Andrew Colvin says.
Key points:
- AFP officer was investigating a leak but didn't obtain the proper warrant
- Call records were accessed, not the content of those calls
- Journalist whose metadata was breached has not been informed
He said "human error" was responsible for the breach, which occurred during an investigation into a leak from inside the AFP.
The breach occurred earlier this year and an internal AFP review has been conducted, the Commissioner said.
The matter was referred to the Commonwealth Ombudsmen two days ago.
The journalist whose metadata was at the centre of the breach has not been informed, Commissioner Colvin added.
"What was accessed was the records of calls, not the content of those calls," he said.
"Just the fact of the existence of the calls in the first place.
"A result of this matter and as a result of us identifying this breach, we have been reviewing our internal practices and procedures to make sure they are as robust as possible."
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The Commissioner said the material, which has since been destroyed, could not be "unseen" by officers investigating the leak.
"They'll need to consider in terms of next steps of the investigation what weight they put on what they saw but that material was accessed illegally," he said.
No disciplinary action has been taken against the investigator behind the breach, with Commissioner Colvin saying he did not believe there was any "ill will or bad intent".
Commissioner Colvin said in light of the breach the AFP had "enhanced" internal procedures regarding access to metadata.
"We have raised the level of internal authorisation required for access to data of this type," he told reporters in Canberra.
"We are limiting the number of authorised officers who can approve access of this type.
"We are also re-rolling out and stepping up mandatory training to all investigators and authorised officers to make sure they are fully aware of their obligations under the Act."
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