Latest news with #AustralianSecurityIntelligenceOrganisation
RTÉ News
01-08-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
US deploying nuclear submarines in regions near Russia
US President Donald Trump has ordered that two nuclear submarines be positioned in regions near Russia in response to comments by a senior Russian official. "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev ... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances." President Trump and Mr Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, traded taunts in recent days after the US leader said on Tuesday that Russia had "ten days from today" to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit, along with its oil buyers, with tariffs. Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace with Kyiv, has shown no sign that it will comply with the deadline. On Monday, Mr Medvedev accused Mr Trump of engaging in a "game of ultimatums" and reminded him that Russia possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort. The remarks came after the US president told the Russian offical to "watch his words". Mr Medvedev has emerged as one of the Russia's most outspoken anti-Western figures since the country sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Critics of Moscow describe him as an irresponsible loose cannon, though some Western diplomats say his statements illustrate the thinking in senior policy-making circles. Australia spy boss warns of Russia threat The Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has singled out Russia as an "aggressive espionage threat", saying several Moscow-linked intelligence officers have been caught and expelled in recent years. Mike Burgess used a speech to warn of the mounting threat posed by foreign actors such as Russia and China. He said that 24 major espionage operations had been dismantled since 2022 - more than the previous eight years combined. "A new iteration of great power competition is driving a relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information. "Russia remains a persistent and aggressive espionage threat," Mr Burgess said. He said that a number of Russian spies had been expelled from Australia in recent years, without providing details. Mr Burgess also mentioned China and Iran as nations actively trying to pilfer classified information. "You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets," he said. Repeating a warning sounded earlier this year, Mr Burgess said that foreign actors were targeting Australia's fledgling nuclear-powered submarine programme. The country plans to deploy the watercraft in a pact with the United States and the UK known as AUKUS. "In particular, we are seeing foreign intelligence services taking a very unhealthy interest in AUKUS and its associated capabilities," Mr Burgess said. Last year, Australian police charged a married Russian-born couple with spying for Moscow. The pair - accused of trying to steal military secrets - had lived in Australia for more than ten years.
Borneo Post
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Australia spy boss warns of Russia's 'aggressive espionage threat'
Burgess said 24 major espionage operations had been dismantled since 2022 — more than the previous eight years combined. — AFP photo SYDNEY (Aug 1): Australia's spy chief has singled out Russia as an 'aggressive espionage threat', saying several Moscow-linked intelligence officers have been caught and expelled in recent years. Intelligence boss Mike Burgess used a speech on Thursday night to warn of the mounting threat posed by foreign actors such as Russia and China. Burgess said 24 major espionage operations had been dismantled since 2022 — more than the previous eight years combined. 'A new iteration of great power competition is driving a relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information,' he said. 'Russia remains a persistent and aggressive espionage threat,' added Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Without providing details, Burgess said a number of Russian spies had been expelled from Australia in recent years. He also mentioned China and Iran as nations actively trying to pilfer classified information. 'You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets,' he said. Repeating a warning sounded earlier this year, Burgess said foreign actors were targeting Australia's fledgling nuclear-powered submarine programme. Australia plans to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered submarines in a pact with the United States and Britain known as AUKUS. 'In particular, we are seeing foreign intelligence services taking a very unhealthy interest in AUKUS and its associated capabilities,' said Burgess. Australian police last year charged a married Russian-born couple with spying for Moscow. The couple — accused of trying to steal military secrets — had lived in Australia for more than 10 years. — AFP Mike Burgess Russia espionage
Epoch Times
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Foreign Spies Targeting AUKUS Secrets, Warns Australian Spy Chief
Crime and Public Safety Spies are attempting to infiltrate everything from the media to private projects, ASIO boss Mike Burgess warns. Foreign nations are actively attempting to recruit Australia's elected officials, public servants, members of military, academics, and business leaders, according to the nation's top intelligence boss. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General of Security Mike Burgess made the stark warning during the 26th Annual Hawke Lecture.
West Australian
01-08-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
ASIO Director Mike Burgess confirms fighting anti-Semitism as Australia's leading threat to life
Fighting anti-Semitism remains the top priority for Australia's intelligence agency in terms of threats to life, the nation's spy chief Mike Burgess has confirmed. 'Unfortunately, it's something we're still working hard on,' Mr Burgess, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said on Friday morning. Mr Burgess praised the 'great progress' made by counter-terrorism teams after a second man was arrested this week in relation to the arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne in December during a spike in anti-Semitic incidents. But he added that, 'we still have open lines of investigations getting behind what was driving this behaviour.' In February, Mr Burgess revealed to a Senate committee that a form of racism had for the first time become the agency's number one priority 'because of the weight of incidents we're seeing play out in this country.' At the time, he requested patience to allow the security services to 'do our job' in investigations that 'take time.' On Friday, he again appealed to the public to refrain from 'inflamed language' around the 'emotive issues' of the Middle East crisis. 'We know people protest, and they have a right to protest. How we behave, though, does matter. Our use of language. Inflamed language leads to inflamed tension that can lead to violence,' Mr Burgess told ABC radio. 'How you engage in that debate or protest actually does make a difference. 'Sadly, there are a small number of Australians who have chosen to plan violence around protests or attack places of worship or intimidate and threaten people, burn cars. That behaviour is totally unacceptable.' The ASIO boss would not be drawn on suggestions that the granting of Palestinian statehood could unleash more violence in the Middle East or in Australia. The Albanese Government this week has faced pressure to follow in the footsteps of Five Eyes partners, the UK and Canada, who have both signalled the intention to recognise a Palestinian state in September. Britain announced it would recognise Palestine unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, stopped building settlements in the West Bank and committed to a two-state solution. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa's move would be based on the Palestinian Authority's commitment to reforms, including the holding of a general election next year that would exclude the participation of terrorist organisation Hamas. Australia's Government has said it was a matter of 'when, not if' it recognised Palestinian statehood but Anthony Albanese has said Canberra would follow its own timeline and had set its own conditions for making the decision. 'The decision to recognise (Palestine) on the path to two states being created would make a positive difference … but in order for that to be achieved there needs to be security for the state of Israel,' he told ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday night. Home Minister Tony Burke doubled down on the Government's position on Friday. 'We have always supported a two-state solution, which means a situation where both Israel and Palestine are recognized as states and both operate in a secure way for the security of their people,' he said in an ABC interview. 'It's an announcement you only get to make once, and we are wanting to make sure that whatever we do is done in a way that most helps to bring about a lasting peace and to deal with the horrific situation that we're seeing on our screens.' Mr Burke also responded to a warning in a speech by the ASIO chief in Adelaide on Thursday night that $12.5 billion had been lost to the Australian economy due to a sharp rise in foreign espionage, urging more awareness of the threats. The Home Minister pointed out that 'tens of billions had also been saved because of our actions' but that people had to stay 'clear-eyed' about the risk. Mr Burgess also warned officials, and the business community were still making it 'too easy' for foreign intelligence agencies on social media, with more than 35,000 Australians indicating on one professional networking site that they had access to sensitive and potentially classified information. He confirmed it would soon become a condition for individuals who hold an ASIO security clearance that they cannon post about it on social media. 'I raised this issue two years ago, and we have seen substantial progress. However, I raise it again, because it does make my head spin a little. It is not naive. It's recklessly inviting the intention of a Foreign Intelligence Service.'
The Advertiser
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Top spy reveals what espionage is costing the Australian economy
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."
