SPIES – AUSTRALIA

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

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

PM won’t identify foreign spy ring

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Feb-20

ASIO’s director-general Mike Burgess has declined to identify any countries behind a recently-exposed foreign spy ring. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also refused to do so, citing national interest concerns. However, Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick says nations such as the US and Canada have "called out" the countries that are involved in espionage and foreign influence. He has suggested that China is the "most likely culprit".

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