AUKUS, defence industry targeted by foreign adversaries, says ASIO boss

In initially the ASIO boss made mention of the pain and grief felt after the Islamic State terror attack directed against Jewish residents at Bondi Beach late last year.

He outlined that Australia’s terrorism threat level remains at PROBABLE, however acknowledging that the system was not designed for the current situation and that the environment is degrading.

“Australia’s defence capabilities and AUKUS remain priority targets for foreign intelligence services. For some nations, even ones we consider friendly, AUKUS is their top priority target,” according to the ASIO chief.

“A spy from a foreign intelligence service approached an Australian security clearance holder online, pretending to be from a consulting company… The foreign intelligence service wanted insights on the progress of Pillar 1, the technologies of Pillar 2, the amount of money being invested, Australia’s geo-strategic ambitions, relations between the three AUKUS governments and the likely trajectory of Australian public opinion.

“Using professional networking sites to recruit Australians is a low cost and low-risk vector for foreign intelligence services. They are also using less scaled but more sophisticated techniques to target AUKUS and its associated capabilities, and we expect it will only increase as the project matures and the attack surface expands.

“Defending Defence and its capabilities from espionage and foreign interference will always be a priority for ASIO. Australia’s war fighters rely on it. Our strategic advantage depends on it. Our partners’ expectations require it.”

VIEW ALL

The ASIO boss also took aim at ‘anarchists and revolutionary groups’ targeting Australian companies domestically.

“This gets surprisingly little media coverage, but Australian companies with perceived links to Israel are being subjected to repeated acts of vandalism and arson by far-left activists,” he said.

“I recognise criticism of the government of Israel is not of itself antisemitic, but some of the threatening statements made by the perpetrators go well beyond political protest or commentary.”

ASIO, working with law enforcement partners, has reportedly foiled 31 major terrorism plots since 2014. In addition, ASIO is aware of at least five regimes targeting Australians with coercive and threatening tactics.

The ASIO boss also confirmed that a former Australian resident living in Iraq directed an attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.

Burgess addressed the situation as an increasingly radical but diverse security threat environment.

“I warned (last year) we were entering a period of strategic surprise and security fragility, and predicted the threat environment would become more dynamic, diverse and degraded by the end of the decade. Unfortunately, we are already there,” he said.

“Great power competition is having an ongoing and profound impact on global stability and strategy. Alliances and norms once considered unbreakable are being questioned. Many of the things we’ve taken for granted are being tested: social cohesion, economic stability, supply chain certainty amongst them.

“Global tensions, conflicts and advances in technology continue. All these factors have direct connections to Australia’s security environment.

“Great power competition is driving an insatiable appetite for strategic advantage. As a result, espionage and foreign interference are at extreme levels, while preparation for sabotage is growing in scale and sophistication.

“Iran continues to view Australia as a legitimate target for covertly directed acts of violence. We assess there is a realistic possibility the group that’s been active in Europe will expand its networks to this part of the world, and could conduct or inspire acts of arson, vandalism or even assassinations on Australian soil.”

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.