NATIONAL SECURITY – AUSTRALIA

ASIO: Voice campaign may trigger violence

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Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-May-23

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general Mike Burgess has raised concern about the national security implications of the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament. He has told a Senate estimates hearing that the referendum may lead to some protests and counter-protests, and that this could result in "spontaneous violence". Burgess also said that there is currently no evidence at present to suggest the potential for a terrorist attack or foreign interference in the referendum process, but cautions that such risks cannot be ruled out.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

ABC to review use of TikTok after app banned from Australian government devices

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Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Apr-23

The federal government has joined its partners in the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network in banning the use of TikTok on government-issued mobile devices. However, the ban does not apply to government-owned entities such as the ABC, NBNCo and Australia Post. TikTok is among the social platforms on which the ABC publishes news content, and the public broadcaster will review its use of the popular app in the wake of the government’s decision. Australia Post is also reviewing its use of TikTok, while NBN Co has advised that it ceased using TikTok for corporate social media communications earlier in 2023 and will review it use by employees on company-issued devices.

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TIKTOK, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA POST

Busier-than-ever ASIO cracks hive of spies and other plots

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 22-Feb-23

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess has used his annual threat assessment to warn that espionage and foreign interference are now the intelligence agency’s main security concerns. He said this has resulted in ASIO being busier now than at any time in its history, with Australians being targeted by foreign espionage agencies more than ever before. Burgess also warned that defence contractors in particular are being targeted in the wake of the AUKUS deal to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, and a "small but concerning number" of veterans have been willing to sell military secrets and expertise to foreign governments. Burgess has revealed that ASIO has uncovered and deported members of a "hive" of highly-trained foreign spies.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Chinese-made cameras found in 88 MPs’ offices

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Original article by Ellen Whinnett
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Feb-23

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has sought security advice on a potential government-wide ban on surveillance cameras made by Hikvision and Dahua, which are both partly owned by the Chinese Communist Party. An audit has found that up to 1,000 cameras and other devices may have been installed across 250 federal government sites. This includes 122 devices that have been installed in the electorate offices of 88 federal MPs and senators. A Department of Finance spokesman has advised that Chinese-made surveillance cameras in electorate offices are being replaced as a precautionary measure.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA), HIKVISION, DAHUA

Australia floats spy balloon fear with China

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 7-Feb-23

It is believed that Australian officials have voiced their concerns with their Chinese counterparts about the spy balloon that flew over the US and was subsequently shot down by a US fighter jet. Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the incident will not get in the way of Australia’s efforts to improve its relationship with China, while former Royal Australian Air Force chief Leo Davies says he is not aware that a Chinese balloon has ever entered Australian air space. Should one appear, he says any decision to shoot it down would depend on where it had been and where it was tracking. However, University of Melbourne atmospheric chemist Robyn Schofield says a balloon launched by China in China could not reach Australia, due to the wind currents, which either blow east-to-west or west-to-east.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Cyber spy agency on high alert over hack

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Dec-20

More than 18,000 companies and government agencies worldwide are believed to have been targeted by the SolarWinds cyber-attack. The Australian Cyber Security Centre is assessing whether the computer systems of any government departments and agencies have been compromised. The SolarWinds Orion software is used by federal agencies such as the Department of Defence, Home Affairs and Austrade. Sergei Shevchenko, the co-founder of cybersecurity firm Prevasio, says that even if SolarWinds clients have not been targeted, they should assume that they are vulnerable to second-stage attacks.

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AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE. AUSTRALIAN CYBER SECURITY CENTRE,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS,AUSTRADE,PREVASIO

Spy charges for man tied to Communist Party

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Original article by Ben Packham, Tessa Akerman, Remy Varga
The Australian – Page: 6 : 6-Nov-20

A 65-year-old Melbourne resident has become the first person to be charged under the federal government’s foreign interference laws. Di Sanh Duong, who is also known as Sunny Duong, faces up to 10 years’ jail if he is convicted under laws that were introduced in 2018. Duong is the president of Oceania Federation of Chinese Associations, and he is a member of several organisations that are believed to have links to the Chinese Communist Party.

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OCEANIA FEDERATION OF CHINESE ASSOCIATIONS, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

ASIO foils plot to infiltrate Australian government

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Original article by Anthony Galloway
The Age – Page: Online : 16-Oct-20

ASIO has stated it uncovered and foiled a plot that could have seen classified information about Australia’s intelligence services fall into the hands of a foreign government. ASIO revealed details of the plot in its latest annual report, stating that the plot was detected and disrupted in 2020. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess says there are currently more foreign spies and their proxies in Australia than there were "at the height of the cold war", while he says right-wing extremists are have become "more organised, sophisticated, ideological and active" than in previous years.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

China’s great science swindle

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Original article by Sharri Markson, Kykar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Aug-20

Andrew Hastie has called for a parliamentary investigation into China’s Thousand Talents Plan. The research scheme sees Australian scientists offered good second salaries and attractive perks, but requires any inventions developed under it to be patented in China and for the scientists to abide by Chinese law. FBI director Christopher Wray has described the Thousand Talents Plan as "economic espionage" and a threat to national security, while Hastie, chair of federal parliament’s joint ­intelligence committee, says the revelations regarding the scheme show how Australian research and intellectual property is being "plundered by the CCP".

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UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Tighter test for foreign investors

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Jun-20

The federal government will announce a revamp of Australia’s foreign investment regime on 5 June; the government wants to close what it contends are ‘national security’ gaps in the current rules. One of the changes will see the Foreign Investment Review Board apply a National Security Test to assets defined as a ‘sensitive national security business’; such assets include water, telecommunications and energy. The government intends to legislate the changes in July, with the intention of having them come into effect in January.

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AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD