On 21 February 2023, the Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, delivered his annual threat assessment in an address to partners across government, the intelligence community, and law enforcement.
This article explores Australia’s key national security threats as highlighted by Mr. Burgess.
Espionage and foreign interference
Mr. Burgess stated that Australia is facing an unprecedented challenge from espionage and foreign interference, which represent the main security concern to the country.
“Multiple nations are using espionage and foreign interference to advance their interests and undermine Australia’s.”
Mr. Burgess stated that espionage is being used by nations to:
- Covertly understand Australia’s politics and decision-making, its alliances and partnerships, and its economic and policy priorities.
- Recruit to their own cause elected officials, public servants, well placed individuals in business, and leaders in the community.
- Identify vulnerabilities in essential services and systems that could be exploited in the future, and to slow Australia’s military modernisation.
- Steal Australia’s intellectual property.
Meanwhile, foreign interference is being used by nations to:
- Shape political and business decision-making to their advantage.
- Monitor, threaten and even harm members of diaspora communities.
- Manipulate messages among communities, through foreign language media, and by establishing community organisations.
“Some of the governments doing these things are considered friends. Others are authoritarian regimes with values very different to ours”, said Mr. Burgess.
According to ASIO, foreign spies are increasingly trying to recruit Australians who have access to sensitive information, such as people working in government, the defence industry or in academia. Spies often attempt to recruit these “insiders” using social media and professional networking sites.
“Insiders become ‘insider threats’ when they disclose sensitive information without authorisation, conduct espionage, foreign interference or sabotage, or help a third party conduct these activities”, Mr. Burgess said.
Terrorism
In late 2022, ASIO lowered the national domestic terrorism threat level from PROBABLE to POSSIBLE.
ASIO assesses that Australia remains a potential terrorist target, with the most likely aggressors being individuals or small groups who may be moved to violence through political motivations or through being radicalised by online content.
Cyber threats
Mr. Burgess discussed the importance of strong cyber security to combat cyber threats, saying “What is often overlooked is the third pillar of security: people. The best physical security in the world is useless if an employee turns off the camera or fails to lock the gate. A-grade cyber security can be undone if an employee uses ‘password’ as their password or allows remote access to a system.”
Key takeaways
In his recent annual threat assessment, the Director-General of ASIO Mike Burgess highlighted that espionage and foreign interference by multiple nations represents the greatest security threat to Australia. Mr. Burgess stated that terrorism remains a possible domestic threat, and discussed the importance of people’s actions in ensuring strong cyber security.
