Top spy reveals what espionage is costing the Australian economy

The Advertiser

31-07-2025

Australia's spy boss says espionage cost the Australian economy $12.5 billion in just a single year as he calls on the country's leaders and public servants to shrug off a sense of complacency about the serious threat to domestic security.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Mike Burgess revealed the figure when he delivered the Annual Hawke Lecture to the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday evening.
It is the first time the agency has been able to put a figure on the economic cost of espionage, after it partnered with the Australian Institute of Criminology to analyse the 2023-24 financial year.
The figure includes the direct costs of known espionage events, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding. But Mr Burgess said it was still a conservative number.
"The Institute deliberately chose to be conservative, only modelling costs it could confirm and calculate," he said, according to a copy of the speech seen by The Canberra Times.
"That means many of the most serious, significant and cascading costs of espionage are not included in the $12.5 billion figure.
"The potential loss of strategic advantage, sovereign decision-making and warfighting capacity hold immense value, but not a quantifiable dollar value.
"The Institute's report contains more than 12.5 billion reasons why we need to take security more seriously."
Mr Burgess used his annual threat assessment in February to warn that espionage and foreign interference had reached "extreme levels" over the past five years, and on Thursday said Australia was still failing to take its security as seriously as it needed to.
"I'm not simply talking about financial investments - I'm referring to a broader prioritisation of time, focus and effort," the Director-General said.
"I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage.
"I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised.
"I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences."
The Director-General's rare public appearances have often included the declassification of alarming details about foiled plots to interfere with Australia and steal its valuable secrets.
On Thursday, he said the spy agency removed "a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers" from Australia in 2022, after an investigation found "the Russians recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities".
READ MORE:
Mr Burgess highlighted the ways in which foreign actors have sought to steal Australia's science and technology advantages, information about public and private sector projects and Antarctic research.
"ASIO has detected and disrupted countless examples of all these things: 24 major espionage and foreign interference disruptions in the last three years alone - more than the previous eight years combined," he said.
"And they are just the major disruptions; there have been many other cases."
He listed examples of spies recruiting a security clearance holder to hand over official documents on free trade negotiations, foreign actors seeking to buy access to sensitive personal data sets and land near sensitive military sites, and foreign spies attempting to infiltrate Australian government jobs, including some within the national security community.
"The espionage threat is serious, but not insurmountable," Mr Burgess concluded.
"The people conducting espionage are sophisticated, but not unstoppable.
"We cannot be defeatist or insecure about our security. We can and should have confidence in our ability to respond."
Australia's spy boss says espionage cost the Australian economy $12.5 billion in just a single year as he calls on the country's leaders and public servants to shrug off a sense of complacency about the serious threat to domestic security.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Mike Burgess revealed the figure when he delivered the Annual Hawke Lecture to the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday evening.
It is the first time the agency has been able to put a figure on the economic cost of espionage, after it partnered with the Australian Institute of Criminology to analyse the 2023-24 financial year.
The figure includes the direct costs of known espionage events, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding. But Mr Burgess said it was still a conservative number.
"The Institute deliberately chose to be conservative, only modelling costs it could confirm and calculate," he said, according to a copy of the speech seen by The Canberra Times.
"That means many of the most serious, significant and cascading costs of espionage are not included in the $12.5 billion figure.
"The potential loss of strategic advantage, sovereign decision-making and warfighting capacity hold immense value, but not a quantifiable dollar value.
"The Institute's report contains more than 12.5 billion reasons why we need to take security more seriously."
Mr Burgess used his annual threat assessment in February to warn that espionage and foreign interference had reached "extreme levels" over the past five years, and on Thursday said Australia was still failing to take its security as seriously as it needed to.
"I'm not simply talking about financial investments - I'm referring to a broader prioritisation of time, focus and effort," the Director-General said.
"I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage.
"I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised.
"I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences."
The Director-General's rare public appearances have often included the declassification of alarming details about foiled plots to interfere with Australia and steal its valuable secrets.
On Thursday, he said the spy agency removed "a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers" from Australia in 2022, after an investigation found "the Russians recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities".
READ MORE:
Mr Burgess highlighted the ways in which foreign actors have sought to steal Australia's science and technology advantages, information about public and private sector projects and Antarctic research.
"ASIO has detected and disrupted countless examples of all these things: 24 major espionage and foreign interference disruptions in the last three years alone - more than the previous eight years combined," he said.
"And they are just the major disruptions; there have been many other cases."
He listed examples of spies recruiting a security clearance holder to hand over official documents on free trade negotiations, foreign actors seeking to buy access to sensitive personal data sets and land near sensitive military sites, and foreign spies attempting to infiltrate Australian government jobs, including some within the national security community.
"The espionage threat is serious, but not insurmountable," Mr Burgess concluded.
"The people conducting espionage are sophisticated, but not unstoppable.
"We cannot be defeatist or insecure about our security. We can and should have confidence in our ability to respond."
Australia's spy boss says espionage cost the Australian economy $12.5 billion in just a single year as he calls on the country's leaders and public servants to shrug off a sense of complacency about the serious threat to domestic security.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Mike Burgess revealed the figure when he delivered the Annual Hawke Lecture to the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday evening.
It is the first time the agency has been able to put a figure on the economic cost of espionage, after it partnered with the Australian Institute of Criminology to analyse the 2023-24 financial year.
The figure includes the direct costs of known espionage events, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding. But Mr Burgess said it was still a conservative number.
"The Institute deliberately chose to be conservative, only modelling costs it could confirm and calculate," he said, according to a copy of the speech seen by The Canberra Times.
"That means many of the most serious, significant and cascading costs of espionage are not included in the $12.5 billion figure.
"The potential loss of strategic advantage, sovereign decision-making and warfighting capacity hold immense value, but not a quantifiable dollar value.
"The Institute's report contains more than 12.5 billion reasons why we need to take security more seriously."
Mr Burgess used his annual threat assessment in February to warn that espionage and foreign interference had reached "extreme levels" over the past five years, and on Thursday said Australia was still failing to take its security as seriously as it needed to.
"I'm not simply talking about financial investments - I'm referring to a broader prioritisation of time, focus and effort," the Director-General said.
"I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage.
"I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised.
"I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences."
The Director-General's rare public appearances have often included the declassification of alarming details about foiled plots to interfere with Australia and steal its valuable secrets.
On Thursday, he said the spy agency removed "a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers" from Australia in 2022, after an investigation found "the Russians recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities".
READ MORE:
Mr Burgess highlighted the ways in which foreign actors have sought to steal Australia's science and technology advantages, information about public and private sector projects and Antarctic research.
"ASIO has detected and disrupted countless examples of all these things: 24 major espionage and foreign interference disruptions in the last three years alone - more than the previous eight years combined," he said.
"And they are just the major disruptions; there have been many other cases."
He listed examples of spies recruiting a security clearance holder to hand over official documents on free trade negotiations, foreign actors seeking to buy access to sensitive personal data sets and land near sensitive military sites, and foreign spies attempting to infiltrate Australian government jobs, including some within the national security community.
"The espionage threat is serious, but not insurmountable," Mr Burgess concluded.
"The people conducting espionage are sophisticated, but not unstoppable.
"We cannot be defeatist or insecure about our security. We can and should have confidence in our ability to respond."
Australia's spy boss says espionage cost the Australian economy $12.5 billion in just a single year as he calls on the country's leaders and public servants to shrug off a sense of complacency about the serious threat to domestic security.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Mike Burgess revealed the figure when he delivered the Annual Hawke Lecture to the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday evening.
It is the first time the agency has been able to put a figure on the economic cost of espionage, after it partnered with the Australian Institute of Criminology to analyse the 2023-24 financial year.
The figure includes the direct costs of known espionage events, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding. But Mr Burgess said it was still a conservative number.
"The Institute deliberately chose to be conservative, only modelling costs it could confirm and calculate," he said, according to a copy of the speech seen by The Canberra Times.
"That means many of the most serious, significant and cascading costs of espionage are not included in the $12.5 billion figure.
"The potential loss of strategic advantage, sovereign decision-making and warfighting capacity hold immense value, but not a quantifiable dollar value.
"The Institute's report contains more than 12.5 billion reasons why we need to take security more seriously."
Mr Burgess used his annual threat assessment in February to warn that espionage and foreign interference had reached "extreme levels" over the past five years, and on Thursday said Australia was still failing to take its security as seriously as it needed to.
"I'm not simply talking about financial investments - I'm referring to a broader prioritisation of time, focus and effort," the Director-General said.
"I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage.
"I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised.
"I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences."
The Director-General's rare public appearances have often included the declassification of alarming details about foiled plots to interfere with Australia and steal its valuable secrets.
On Thursday, he said the spy agency removed "a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers" from Australia in 2022, after an investigation found "the Russians recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities".
READ MORE:
Mr Burgess highlighted the ways in which foreign actors have sought to steal Australia's science and technology advantages, information about public and private sector projects and Antarctic research.
"ASIO has detected and disrupted countless examples of all these things: 24 major espionage and foreign interference disruptions in the last three years alone - more than the previous eight years combined," he said.
"And they are just the major disruptions; there have been many other cases."
He listed examples of spies recruiting a security clearance holder to hand over official documents on free trade negotiations, foreign actors seeking to buy access to sensitive personal data sets and land near sensitive military sites, and foreign spies attempting to infiltrate Australian government jobs, including some within the national security community.
"The espionage threat is serious, but not insurmountable," Mr Burgess concluded.
"The people conducting espionage are sophisticated, but not unstoppable.
"We cannot be defeatist or insecure about our security. We can and should have confidence in our ability to respond."