According to Australia’s intelligence chief, at least three foreign governments have been discovered planning to harm individuals critical of them residing in Australia.
Collaboration between ASIO and the US
In a wide-ranging speech, Burgess revealed ASIO had alerted US authorities to a 12-year-old boy plotting mass shootings in the US.
Director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, shared this revelation during an annual threat update, describing it as the most significant and serious update yet.
The Australian spy agency also discovered a cyber unit from an unnamed foreign government that targeted critical infrastructure networks in the US.
The same unit routinely tried to explore and exploit Australia’s networks, mapping systems to lay down malware or maintain access in the future.
Burgess cautioned that Australia should brace itself for more security threats in the coming five years compared to the previous decade shaped by conflicts in the Middle East and Europe as well as the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spies target AUKUS partnership with the US and UK
Foreign spy agencies targeted Australia’s AUKUS partnership with the US and Britain that will deliver an Australian fleet of submarines powered by US nuclear technology.
In addition to the submarine deal, AUKUS Pillar II involves cooperation on a wider range of security technologies including artificial intelligence, electronic warfare and hypersonic systems.
“ASIO has identified foreign services seeking to target AUKUS to position themselves to collect on the capabilities, how Australia intends to use them, and to undermine the confidence of our allies,” Burgess said.
“AUKUS will remain a priority target for intelligence collection, including by countries we consider friendly.”
