NATIONAL SECURITY – AUSTRALIA

ASIO chief Mike Burgess clarifies Hamas comments, declares sympathisers pose national security threat

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Original article by Sharri Markson
Sky News Australia – Page: Online : 3-Sep-24

There had been some confusion about whether Hamas activists from Gaza are welcome in Australia, following an appearance by ASIO’s Director-General Mike Burgess on the ABC in August. However, he has used an address to a gathering of business leaders and academics to clarify his views on the issue of people in Gaza who are seeking a visa to come to Australia. Burgess is understood to have said that while those who just support a Palestinian state would not be viewed as a threat to national security, anyone who was a supporter of Hamas or who supported the 7 October terrorist attacks on Israel would be.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Greens’ divisive rhetoric is fuelling domestic terror threat: PM

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Aug-24

The federal government has advised that the nation’s terrorism threat alert will be raised from ‘possible’ to ‘probable’. ASIO’s director-general Mike Burgess has warned that the chance of a terrorist attack in the next 12 months is now more than 50 per cent. He adds that young ‘lone-wolf’ terrorists armed with guns and knives pose the biggest risk. Burgess says that while the Israel-Hamas war is contributing to the growing threat of a terrorist attack, social media is being used to radicalise people and to spread ­extremist ideologies and conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the Greens have contributed to the growing tensions within the community with their stance on issues such as the war in Gaza.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM locked out by war protests

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Jun-24

The security protection of federal MPs and Parliament House has been ramped up in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October and the resultant pro-Palestine demonstrations across Australia. It has been revealed that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not used his electorate office in Marrickville since early January due to concerns about the safety of his staff. Meanwhile, federal police and intelligence agencies are believed to have advised parliamentarians that anti-Israel demonstrations have been infiltrated by Islamic extremists.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

1200 Chinese spies on Aussie turf, former spook reveals

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Original article by Kathryn Bermingham
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 29-May-24

A former Chinese spy has told the Defending Australia summit that the nation has been infiltrated by many operatives from his homeland. ‘Eric’ warned that at least 1,200 Chinese spies are currently active in Australia; this includes about 1,000 "low-level" operatives and an additional 200 "professional" operatives. Eric said that most of the spies are being directed by China’s Ministry of State Security, the Public Security Bureau or a consulate, and that they are collecting information, undertaking surveillance and harassing targets on behalf of the Communist regime.

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Security chiefs to target tech giants

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 24-Apr-24

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general Mike Burgess and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw will jointly address the National Press Club on Wednesday. They will urge technology companies to work with law enforcement and intelligence agenies to combat the use of their platforms by criminals and extremists. They are particularly concerned about the use of end-to-end encryption services such as Facebook Messenger and Telegram to disseminate racist and other harmful information and ideologies. Burgess has also warned that artificial intelligence technology will facilitate national security threats such as espionage, foreign interference and radicalisation.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

PM calls for unity amid the unease

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 17-Apr-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of cabinet’s National Security Committee on Tuesday morning in response to the stabbing of a Christian bishop, which has been designated a terrorist attack by NSW police. Albanese says the attack is being investigated by a joint counter-terrorism team. He has urged Australians to unite, and stressed that respect for each other must be maintained at all times. ASIO’s director-general Mike Burgess says the terrorist attack appears to be religiously motivated, but he adds that the 16-year-old perpetrator seems to have acted alone. Burgess also says Australia’s terrorism threat level remains at ‘possible’.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, asio see AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Secrecy of Bernard Collaery trial risked damaging public’s faith in administration of justice, court rules

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Original article by Sarah Basford Canales
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 10-Jan-24

The former Coalition government is under further scrutiny over the Bernard Collaery whistleblower case. The ACT has released details of a judgment in which it concluded that the Coalition’s decision to allow much of Collaery’s trial to remain behind closed doors had put too more emphasis on the issue of national security rather than the administration of justice. The court removed many of the secrecy provisions after deeming that "no risk to national security would materialise". Labor dropped the charges against Collaery several months after winning the 2022 election.

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COURT OF APPEAL (AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor plan would give home affairs minister powers over critical infrastructure during cyber-attacks

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Original article by Josh Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 20-Dec-23

The federal government has released a consultation paper on proposed changes to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act. Amongst other things, Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil could potentially be given the power to direct providers of criticial infrastructure – such as energy or transport companies – to take certain actions in the event of a cyber attack; this could include suspending their operations for the duration of the crisis. The minister may also be given the powers to direct companies that are hit by a cyber attack to replace customers’ personal documents that have been compromised, such as passports.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

AUKUS deal a target for hackers: spy agency

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Nov-23

The Australian Signals Directorate has advised that it was notified of some 94,000 cyber crimes during 2022-23, which is 23 per cent higher than the previous financial year. The ASD responded to 1,100 of the most serious incidents, including three that extensive compromised government or critical infrastructure systems. The ASD has also warned that the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine alliance is likely to make the defence sector a key target for state-sponsored hackers.

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AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE

Foreign agents planting digital mines in key tech

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Original article by Liam Mendes, Ellen Whinnett
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-23

The Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre has warned that Australia’s critical infrastructure is under serious threat from foreign interference and espionage. The CISC’s inagural annual risk review notes that the nation’s critical infrastructure sectors are deeply interconnected, so a significant disruption in one sector will affect others. Concerns have also been raised that foreign players have planted ‘digital landmines’ in Australia’s critical infrastructure that could be triggered in the future.

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CYBER AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY CENTRE