Spy scandal could have brought down govt

Spy scandal could have brought down govt:

"Just six weeks into office and without even sitting a day in parliament, new Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke confronted a scandal he readily admits could have brought down his government."

'via Blog this'

ASIO warned of 1983 Armenian terror plot

ASIO warned of 1983 Armenian terror plot:

"CANBERRA, Jan 1 AAP - It's almost forgotten now but one of the most notorious terror acts perpetrated on Australian soil was conducted by a little known group against a lowly Turkish diplomat."

'via Blog this'

Howard and Fraser's titanic budget clash | The Australian

Howard and Fraser's titanic budget clash | The Australian:

"JOHN Howard warned the Fraser cabinet in 1982 that the Coalition's political credibility was at stake, in a titanic clash over economic policy with Malcolm Fraser that severed their close relationship."

'via Blog this'

The PAC scholar and a spy scandal | Adelaide Now

The PAC scholar and a spy scandal | Adelaide Now:

"BOB Hawke ordered ASIO to bug suspected KGB target David Combe in 1983, it has been revealed."

'via Blog this'

Secret government business | Domain investor centre | real estate

Secret government business | Domain investor centre | real estate:

"So what was the FOI targeted at... Troop movements in Afghanistan? The prime minister’s private schedule? The names of ASIO’s ant-terrorism informants?"

'via Blog this'

Archives' new boss finds role perfect fit - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times

Archives' new boss finds role perfect fit - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times:

"In many ways, moving from ASIO to the National Archives is a perfect fit, if not a slight change in perspective, according to the archives' next director."

'via Blog this'

ASIO deputy takes over national archives

ASIO deputy takes over national archives:

"The deputy head of Australia's domestic security agency is to be the next head of the National Archives of Australia."

'via Blog this'

PM - Radio Current Affairs Documentary: Harold Holt 20/12/2011

PM - Radio Current Affairs Documentary: Harold Holt 20/12/2011:

"It's nearly 45 years since the Australian prime minister Harold Holt vanished in the surf at a beach south of Melbourne."

'via Blog this'

Cruel to be unkind. A softly, deadly asylum policy

Cruel to be unkind. A softly, deadly asylum policy:

 "After the weekend's tragic loss of asylum seeker life, it seems inevitable that the familiar charge and counter charge of the Australian refugee debate will soon fill the political vacuum of this early summer."

'via Blog this'

Merry Christmas Canberra fat cats | The Australian

Merry Christmas Canberra fat cats | The Australian:

 "WE should pay top dollar for the best bureaucrats but do we need so many?"

'via Blog this'

Release sought for asylum boy who attempted suicide

Release sought for asylum boy who attempted suicide:

"A 17-YEAR-OLD boy who wound up in hospital in Darwin after trying to hang himself from a double bunk is at the centre of a legal challenge by Slater & Gordon to the prolonged detention of recognised refugees awaiting ASIO security checks."

'via Blog this'

All's not fair in love and work | Knowledge@Australian School of Business | Commentary | Business Spectator

All's not fair in love and work
 | Knowledge@Australian School of Business | Commentary | Business Spectator:

"At a 2002 Christmas party for Australian Embassy staff in Moscow, Natalia Komarova, the embassy's Russian-born public diplomacy officer and Bruce Jones, a recently arrived political officer, met and immediately struck up a friendship. Several months later, when friendship blossomed into romance, the pair reported their relationship immediately to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as required by the code of conduct outlined in their employment contracts."

'via Blog this'

review ASIO over mandatory detention

PM - Call for Roxon to review ASIO over mandatory detention:

"MATT PEACOCK: A prominent civil rights advocate is calling on the new Attorney-General, Nicola Roxon, to reconsider the position of the head of ASIO over the issue of mandatory detention of refugees."

'via Blog this'

Protest as teenage asylum seekers are detained with adults

Protest as teenage asylum seekers are detained with adults:

"EIGHT teenage asylum seekers, all minors, have had their community housing revoked and been moved into adult detention facilities in the past fortnight, while another has run away and is missing."

'via Blog this'

Activists warn of Rohingya refugee influx

Activists warn of Rohingya refugee influx:

"Human rights groups say up to 25 boats of Burmese Muslim Rohingya refugees have set off from Bangladesh since September for Malaysia or Indonesia and may head on to Australia."

'via Blog this'

Boy refugees' treatment under fire in courts

Boy refugees' treatment under fire in courts:

"A 17-year-old boy, who was hospitalised in Darwin after trying to hang himself from a double bunk bed, is at the centre of a challenge in the Federal Court to the prolonged detention of recognised refugees waiting for ASIO security clearance."

'via Blog this'

PM - Call for Roxon to review ASIO over mandatory detention 13/12/2011

PM - Call for Roxon to review ASIO over mandatory detention 13/12/2011:

"The head of ASIO, David Irvine, recently told a parliamentary committee looking into the issue that introducing reviews could be problematic."

'via Blog this'

Mosaic theory, universal surveillance and unlimited recordkeeping #SpyFiles | WL Central

Mosaic theory, universal surveillance and unlimited recordkeeping #SpyFiles | WL Central:

"Mosaic theory was what caused intelligence organisations like Australia’s ASIO (Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation) in the mid 20th century to record what seemed like incredibly mundane activities and communications of what were then called ‘persons of interest’. "

'via Blog this'

as posted hereas posted here

Speculation rife as Gillard gobbles cyber security - Risk - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence

Speculation rife as Gillard gobbles cyber security - Risk - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence:

"Julia Gillard will take command of cyber security policy away from the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) under a sweeping cabinet reshuffle that also claimed the scalp of Federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland."

'via Blog this'

'We were lambs to the slaughter' | smh.com.au

'We were lambs to the slaughter' | smh.com.au:

"MOMENTS before a Sydney police officer was shot by a terrorism suspect, he and three colleagues were assured there was ''no information'' to suggest their target might be armed. That advice came from the then head of the Counter Terrorism Co-ordination Command, Mark Jenkins."

'via Blog this'

Department of Defence: less than honest, less than decent - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Department of Defence: less than honest, less than decent

- The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

"The effect of this is that there is limited political oversight of the AFP and ASIO. "

'via Blog this'

Review of Admin

"The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is required under Section 29 (1)(a) of the Intelligence Services Act 2001, to conduct an annual review of the administration, expenditure and financial statements of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), Defence Signals Directorate (DSD), Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO), Defence Imagery Geospatical Organisation (DIGO) and the Office of National Assessments (ONA)."

'via Blog this'

Double or nothing on refugee intake

Double or nothing on refugee intake:

"LABOR has committed itself to almost double Australia's refugee intake after an emotion-charged national conference debate ended with a vote to support the controversial Malaysian people-swap agreement to deter boat arrivals."

'via Blog this'

Fraser informed Murdoch on Whitlam and Iraqi cash

Fraser informed Murdoch on Whitlam and Iraqi cash:

"THE media baron Rupert Murdoch and the then prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, exchanged secrets, including intelligence information, in efforts to politically destroy the then Labor leader, Gough Whitlam."

'via Blog this'

Spending cuts? Yes Minister - The Drum Opinion - There is room for efficiency, but there are better ways (with a dash of courage and conviction) to find them than an across the board cut. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Spending cuts? Yes Minister - The Drum Opinion - There is room for efficiency, but there are better ways (with a dash of courage and conviction) to find them than an across the board cut. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

"Big agencies or those in the public spotlight can often make up far more in new policy bids than they lose through the dividend. Some of the security agencies, like ASIO or the Australian Federal Police, in recent years have had more money thrown at them than they can spend and have difficulty recruiting to their increased staff numbers. "

'via Blog this'

Sky News: Australia faces persistent terror threat

Sky News: Australia faces persistent terror threat:

"Australia faces a persistent terror threat and it wouldn't be in the community's interest for intelligence agencies or the government to relax their guard, Attorney-General Robert McClelland says."

'via Blog this'

WikiLeaks wins top Australian journalism prize

WikiLeaks wins top Australian journalism prize:

"The WikiLeaks website has won Australian journalism’s most prestigious annual prize—the Walkley Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. Chosen by a panel of journalists and photographers, a Walkley is the national equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize in the US."

'via Blog this'

Cloak and dollar: how much do security agencies in Australia really need?

Cloak and dollar: how much do security agencies in Australia really need?:

"In an era of evolving threats, judgment calls will continue to rely on the provision of accurate, timely intelligence. But this intelligence does not come cheap."

'via Blog this'

Asylum seekers released on bridging visas | News | NT News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au

Asylum seekers released on bridging visas | News | NT News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au:

"SOME asylum seekers detained in Darwin are among the first to be released into the community on bridging visas but it will be up to them where they live."

'via Blog this'

Mother of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, speaks with the WSWS

Mother of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, speaks with the WSWS:

"Christine Assange, the mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, spoke with the World Socialist Web Site last week during US President Barack Obama’s visit to Australia. Early this month, Britain’s High Court dismissed an appeal by Julian Assange against his extradition to Sweden on frame-up charges of rape and sexual assault."

'via Blog this'

D Notice - WikiSpooks

D Notice - WikiSpooks:

"A voluntary system of D-Notices was also used in Australia starting in 1952 during the Cold War period and were issued by the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee. At the first meeting of the Committee, eight D-Notices were issued covering atomic tests in Australia, aspects of naval shipbuilding, official ciphering, the number and deployment of Centurion tanks, troop movements in the Korean War, weapons and equipment information not officially released, aspects of air defence and certain aerial photographs.[3]"

'via Blog this'

Detention firm fined $15m for care failure

Detention firm fined $15m for care failure:

"THE multinational company that runs the immigration detention network has been fined $15 million for failing in its duty of care to asylum seekers and for underperformance."

'via Blog this'

The plot to get Gough

The plot to get Gough:

"MEDIA baron Rupert Murdoch and former prime minister Malcolm Fraser exchanged secrets, including intelligence information, in efforts to politically destroy Labor leader Gough Whitlam."

'via Blog this'

Humphrey McQueen: Obama’s marines not welcome here | Green Left Weekly

Humphrey McQueen: Obama’s marines not welcome here | Green Left Weekly:

"Ten years ago, we were told that we were going to chose who came here. Today, we are exercising that choice by protesting at the arrival of the war and economic criminal Obama."

'via Blog this'

Security clearance industry needs a thorough overhaul - Opinion - Editorial - General - The Canberra Times

Security clearance industry needs a thorough overhaul

- Opinion - Editorial - General - The Canberra Times:

"The security clearance industry is just that - an industry. In theory and more often in practice the more sophisticated a society the more efficient and streamlined is the process for obtaining a security clearance."

'via Blog this'

Accused cop Simon Artz read terror raid file | The Australian

Accused cop Simon Artz read terror raid file | The Australian:

"A VICTORIA Police detective accused of leaking details of a major anti-terror investigation accessed a computer file listing the targets of the Operation Neath raids 14 minutes before leaving the office to meet with a senior journalist from The Australian."

'via Blog this'

Survey: Aussies snub Govt protection programs - Networks - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence

Survey: Aussies snub Govt protection programs

- Networks - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence:

"Symantec has released a report claiming that only half of Australia’s critical infrastructure providers (CIPs) were prepared to cooperate with Federal Government agencies charged with improving their security."

'via Blog this'

Detective a 'minnow' in leak on terror raids | The Australian

Detective a 'minnow' in leak on terror raids | The Australian:

"SIMON Overland's public declaration on the morning of the Operation Neath terror raids that he would vigorously pursue the source of a leak to The Australian newspaper created a "toxic high-profile" atmosphere that resulted in detective Simon Artz facing criminal charges rather than internal police discipline."

'via Blog this'

Fraser mulled taskforce to probe leaks - National News - National - General - The Canberra Times

Fraser mulled taskforce to probe leaks

- National News - National - General - The Canberra Times:

"Malcolm Fraser's cabinet considered setting up a special panel of investigators to probe the leaking of confidential government information, documents issued by the National Archives show."

'via Blog this'

Talking points of Operation Neath disseminated as part of media strategy | The Australian

Talking points of Operation Neath disseminated as part of media strategy | The Australian:

"The committal hearing of Simon Artz, a Victoria Police detective accused of leaking information about the investigation, today heard outlines of Operation Neath were distributed to the media units of Victoria Police, ASIO, the NSW Crime Commission and other agencies so they could start preparing press releases."

'via Blog this'

Cyber security a top priority - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Cyber security a top priority - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

"There are claims cyber thieves have stolen classified material from the Defence Department as Australia sees a dramatic escalation in cyber attacks."

'via Blog this'

Journalist unware of key details of upcoming anti-terror raid | The Australian

Journalist unware of key details of upcoming anti-terror raid | The Australian:

"A JOURNALIST from The Australian who contacted federal police about Melbourne residents supporting Islamic extremists in Somalia did not appear to know key aspects about a major counter-terrorism operation already underway, a court has heard."

'via Blog this'

Aussie Defense IT adviser lost a dozen intelligence briefings - Charlotte City Buzz | Examiner.com

Aussie Defense IT adviser lost a dozen intelligence briefings - Charlotte City Buzz | Examiner.com:

"The office of the defense force's top information technology adviser lost a dozen intelligence briefings of the most highly classified level - "above top secret" - in another embarrassing incident for Australia's armed services."

'via Blog this'

Security a safe market

Security a safe market:

"THESE days, the surest way to gain acceptance for policy proposals that former Treasury secretary Ken Henry might have called "frankly, bad" is to wrap them in a ''security'' blanket."

'via Blog this'

Top cop denies warning over leak | The Australian

Top cop denies warning over leak | The Australian:

"A VICTORIA Police officer cannot recall a conversation he concedes could have occurred in which a subordinate insists he told him their office could have been responsible for the leaking of a counter-terrorism operation with the AFP and ASIO."

'via Blog this'

Ever felt like someone is watching you? – seeuinsydney

Ever felt like someone is watching you? – seeuinsydney:

"Australia’s Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) was set up in 1949 has files on over half a million Australians over the years. They have watched and recorded information on suspected of threats to national security, alleged communists, and university student hippies such as movie reviewer David Stratton (I kid you not)."

'via Blog this'

AFP split with Victoria Police on terror raid plans | The Australian

AFP split with Victoria Police on terror raid plans

| The Australian:

"A RIFT between senior figures within the Victoria Police and Australian Federal Police over how best to conduct the critical stage of a major anti-terror operation -- including when to raid terror suspects and how best to contain a leak that had compromised the long-standing investigation -- has been revealed in a Melbourne court."

'via Blog this'

Sri Lankan refugees believed to be Tamil Tigers | The Australian

Sri Lankan refugees believed to be Tamil Tigers

| The Australian:

"AT least 40 of the 44 boatpeople who have been declared security threats by ASIO are believed to be Sri Lankan Tamils with links to that country's terrorist organisation."

'via Blog this'

AFP feared leak could spark terror attack | Herald Sun

AFP feared leak could spark terror attack | Herald Sun:

"THE Australian Federal Police (AFP) held grave fears for public safety when it emerged that details of planned anti-terrorism raids had been leaked to a media outlet, a court has been told."

'via Blog this'

National Archives of Australia | ASIO counterespionage on film | Your Memento

National Archives of Australia

| ASIO counterespionage on film | Your Memento:

"National Archives staff often unearth exciting or unusual records from among the millions of items held in the collection. These records are placed on the Archives’ Gems Register. ‘What a gem!’ showcases amazing finds from the Archives’ collection. In this issue, Your Memento presents Legal Resident – an ASIO training film from 1963.

"

'via Blog this'

Massive security for Commonwealth meeting in Western Australia

Massive security for Commonwealth meeting in Western Australia:

"Extensive police-state security measures have been adopted in the Western Australian capital of Perth, as part of state and federal government preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this weekend. CHOGM consists of the leaders of Britain and its former colonies."

'via Blog this'

US Cables show former Solomons minister Chan was key partner

US Cables show former Solomons minister Chan was key partner:

"Classified US diplomatic cables from 2006 show that the US enjoyed close contacts with the foreign minister at the time, Laurie Chan."

'via Blog this'

US, Aus spy exposed

US, Aus spy exposed:

"CLASSIFIED US diplomatic cables from 2006, recently published by WikiLeaks, have finally revealed that Australia and the United States have highly protected local intelligence sources in the Solomon Islands."

'via Blog this'

Most important to avoid the perception of crony capitalism | The Australian

Most important to avoid the perception of crony capitalism

| The Australian:

"WHILE there is a tradition of former bureaucrats moving to business or even politics, Ken Henry provides an interesting challenge to Australian governance.

"

'via Blog this'

Persons Of Interest – ASIO surveillance 1949 -1980 « Art Blart

Persons Of Interest – ASIO surveillance 1949 -1980 « Art Blart:

"Curator Naomi Cass
Artists ASIO de-classified photos and footage, Denis Beaubois (France/Australia), Luc Delahaye (France), Cherine Fahd (Australia), Percy Grainger (Australia/USA), Bill Henson (Australia), Sonia Leber and David Chesworth (Australia), Walid Raad (Lebanon/USA), Kohei Yoshiyuki (Japan)"

'via Blog this'

India's absence a serious failure | The Australian

India's absence a serious failure | The Australian:

"NEXT week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth is already shaping up as something of a diplomatic failure for the Gillard government. There are two key indicators of this. The first, and most significant, is that Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, the largest and most important Commonwealth nation, is not attending."

'via Blog this'

as posted hereas posted here

Security out in force as world leaders meet

Security out in force as world leaders meet:

"A RELATIVELY small group of university students, left-wing demonstrators and human rights activists will be confronted with one of Australia's biggest security operations in Perth during next week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting."

'via Blog this'

ASIO war on illegal fishing | Crikey

ASIO war on illegal fishing | Crikey:

"This week at Estimates, there was a sequel to the circumstances around the passage of the “WikiLeaks” amendment earlier this year that expanded ASIO’s powers to gather foreign intelligence to incorporate not merely “non-state actors” but virtually anything relating to Australia or its interests, including commercial interests."

'via Blog this'

Air marshals cut from the skies as cost cutting bites | thetelegraph.com.au

Air marshals cut from the skies as cost cutting bites

| thetelegraph.com.au:

"ARMED guards on planes will fly almost entirely on international routes after the axing of 36 air marshals."

'via Blog this'

ASIO gradually “going dark” with intercept targets - CSO | The Resource for Data Security Executives

ASIO gradually “going dark” with intercept targets

- CSO | The Resource for Data Security Executives:

"The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is “gradually ‘going dark’” on its telecommunications intercept capabilities, referring to the challenge law enforcement have intercepting peer-to-peer, web and Skype like communications"

'via Blog this'

Australia: Ongoing conspiracy of silence over SIEV X tragedy

Australia: Ongoing conspiracy of silence over SIEV X tragedy:

"A decade ago, on October 19, 2001, a seriously overcrowded 19-metre vessel, later known as SIEV X and carrying 400 refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, broke up and sank in international waters between Indonesia and Australia’s Christmas Island. Three hundred and fifty-three people, including 146 children and 142 women, drowned. Most were attempting to rejoin their husbands and fathers on Temporary Protection Visas in Australia but legally denied family reunion rights."

'via Blog this'

$14m Canberra crisis centre a cyberwar defence - Networks - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence

$14m Canberra crisis centre a cyberwar defence

- Networks - SC Magazine Australia - Secure Business Intelligence:

"A $14 million Crisis Coordination Centre has opened in the Federal Attorney-General’s Department to deal with large cyber and terror attacks and natural disasters."

'via Blog this'

I spy? Or do you? - Secret Canberra - The Canberra Times

I spy? Or do you? - Secret Canberra

- The Canberra Times:

"t's that time of the year. Spring has well and truly sprung. The mysterious white fluff is floating around. And annual reports are sprouting all over town."

'via Blog this'

The Infidel Diaries » Biased media reporting on ASIO report.

The Infidel Diaries » Biased media reporting on ASIO report.:

"Several papers reported on the tabling of the annual ASIO security report. "

'via Blog this'

Howard aides linked to Habib rendition

Howard aides linked to Habib rendition:

"OFFICIALS who worked under the then Prime Minister, John Howard, were ''directly involved in decision-making'' about the arrest and rendition to Egypt of the terrorism suspect Mamdouh Habib, a top-level inquiry into the affair has found."

'via Blog this'

Govt releases bomb chemicals guide

Govt releases bomb chemicals guide:

"The federal government has launched a guide to help retail staff avoid selling chemicals that could be turned into bombs."

'via Blog this'

Extremists' eyes on Australia: ASIO | Adelaide Now

Extremists' eyes on Australia: ASIO

| Adelaide Now:

"ASIO warns there are concerns extremist may generate a Norwegian style massacre here, David Jean writes."

'via Blog this'

Australian Labor News - Let's move Australia forward

Australian Labor News - Let's move Australia forward:

"Attorney-General Robert McClelland today welcomed the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Report to Parliament 2010-11, which was tabled this afternoon."

'via Blog this'

Funding shortfall keeps spies in the cold - National News - National - General - The Canberra Times

Funding shortfall keeps spies in the cold

- National News - National - General - The Canberra Times:

"Australia's spy agency believes it cannot sustain current intelligence operations without more government funding, and has said its new $600 million headquarters in Russell could need further upgrading."

'via Blog this'

ASIO develops an anti-terrorism analytical tool to fight violent extremism | The Australian

ASIO develops an anti-terrorism analytical tool to fight violent extremism

| The Australian:

"THE Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has developed a new analytical technique to help identify international activities that may lead to violent extremism within Australia."

'via Blog this'

Snapped in the moment - forever

Snapped in the moment - forever:

"Illuminating, bracing, memorable, damning and disquieting. The camera can reveal lives and lies, sometimes best kept hidden."

'via Blog this'

Australia, ASIS, ASIO, Federal Police and Military Downright Incompetent!

Australia, ASIS, ASIO, Federal Police and Military Downright Incompetent!:

"ASIO and Australian Federal Police are supposeto protect Australia internally from threats or attacks, AustralianMilitary are suppose to protect Australia from invasion fromanother country."

'via Blog this'

Police tail Sydney's jihad gang | thetelegraph.com.au

Police tail Sydney's jihad gang

| thetelegraph.com.au

: "AN EXTREMIST Islamic group suspected of planning a crime spree across Sydney to raise money for the Taliban has been uncovered by counter-terrorism police."

'via Blog this'

Al-Qaeda bomb plotter reported killed in Yemen

Al-Qaeda bomb plotter reported killed in Yemen:

"ANWAR al-Awlaki, a US-born Islamic cleric who masterminded the attempted bombing of a plane bound for Detroit on December 25, 2009, is believed to have been killed in Yemen, the country's Defence Ministry said last night."

'via Blog this'

Man charged over ram raid was on security watch list

Man charged over ram raid was on security watch list:

"A YOUNG Sydney man accused of links to a dangerous al-Qaeda preacher has expressed a desire to go to Afghanistan, according to Australian intelligence."

'via Blog this'

Man with terror links held after raid

Man with terror links held after raid:

"A SYDNEY man with ''demonstrated connections'' to one of the world's most dangerous terrorist preachers has been arrested by Sydney police over allegations he broke into a cash machine."

'via Blog this'

The spy who came out as Klod | The Australian

The spy who came out as Klod

| The Australian:

"WALTER Seddon Clayton was the spymaster who ran Australia's network of KGB spies from 1944 to 1950."

'via Blog this'

Police secrets & ASIO spies unveiled

Police secrets & ASIO spies unveiled:

"What secret files do ASIO have on our most famous Australians? Secret spies, ASIO & civil liberties is focus of a lecture by Dr Meredith Burgmann, who talks with John Stanley on the secrets behind our intriguing spy agency."

'via Blog this'

Code red: the cyber spy threat

Code red: the cyber spy threat:

"Both the head of ASIO, Director-General of Security David Irvine, and the Attorney-General Robert McClelland, have recently become more vocal about the cyber threat."

'via Blog this'

Security check warning on Malaysian refugee swap plan

Security check warning on Malaysian refugee swap plan

| The Australian:

"AUSTRALIA'S peak government watchdog has questioned the ability of Australia to complete security checks within a reasonable time on the 4000 refugees Labor wants to accept under its Malaysian refugee swap."

'via Blog this'

Defence scrambles to weed out false security clearances - Security - Technology - News - CRN Australia

Defence scrambles to weed out false security clearances

- Security - Technology - News - CRN Australia:

"Thousands of security clearances performed by the Defence Security Authority in Brisbane and cleared by the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation may need to be rechecked following systematic failures in the agency’s vetting process"

'via Blog this'

Templestowe author's brush with a spy - Arts & Entertainment - Lifestyle - Manningham Leader

Templestowe author's brush with a spy

- Arts & Entertainment - Lifestyle - Manningham Leader

"TEMPLESTOWE author Bill Wakeling was 11 years old when a brush with an ASIO agent left him with a love for all things espionage."

'via Blog this'

“Insidious” cyber chaos too fast for ASIO - director-general, David Irvine, cyber threats, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), 2nd national cyberwarfare conference - CSO | The Resource for Data Security Executives

“Insidious” cyber chaos too fast for ASIO - director-general, David Irvine, cyber threats, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), 2nd national cyberwarfare conference - CSO | The Resource for Data Security Executives: "Despite massive funding increases and greater cooperation from federal and state law enforcement agencies, Australia's security chief predicts the intelligence community will continue to struggle with new technology."

'via Blog this'

CPA - The Guardian - #1519

CPA - The Guardian - #1519: "In a betrayal of Australian interests and our future security, decisions at last week’s AUSMIN talks, the annual meeting of Australian and US foreign and defence ministers, risk bringing war to our doorstep. As more US ships, aircraft and troops move from North Asia to the southern hemisphere to be based at Australian military facilities, the level of Australian military integration with an aggressive and destabilising US government will rise, further undermining Australia’s independence and security."

'via Blog this'

Thousands of Defence security checks have to be done again

Thousands of Defence security checks have to be done again: "THE Defence Department has launched an urgent investigation of security clearances, after an internal inquiry found thousands of clearances could have been issued to people based partly on fabricated information."

'via Blog this'

Lateline - 20/09/2011: Illusory entries were workarounds: Smith

Lateline - 20/09/2011: Illusory entries were workarounds: Smith: "Defence Minister Stephen Smith speaks to Lateline about the internal review into the Defence Security Authority and the workarounds needed to ensure compatibility with ASIO computer systems."

'via Blog this'

Terror cells in Sydney and Melbourne connected - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Terror cells in Sydney and Melbourne connected - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "It can now be revealed that Australia's largest terrorist network involved a group of men from Sydney as well as Melbourne. Operation Pendennis uncovered the network headed by a radical Melbourne cleric, Abdul Nacer Benbrika. PM can now reveal the groups were all working together when ASIO, the Australian Federal Police, Victorian police and New South Wales police uncovered the plot in 2005."

'via Blog this'

Home-grown radicals a concern - ASIO | News.com.au

Home-grown radicals a concern - ASIO | News.com.au: "THREATS to Australia's security are still very real with the nation's security chief concerned about 'radicalised' Australians and lone wolf types."

'via Blog this'

Last online of defence: why is ANZUS prepping for a cyber war?

Last online of defence: why is ANZUS prepping for a cyber war?: "The treaty extension allows the US and Australia to use technology to cooperate in the event of a large-scale cyber attack."

'via Blog this'

ASIO 'vital' to state security

ASIO 'vital' to state security: "THE end of the Cold War has seen the rise of a new and many-hued threat to Australia, including right-wing extremists, online hackers, criminal syndicates, people smugglers and terrorists, according to the head of ASIO."

'via Blog this'

ASIO head giving University law lecture

ASIO head giving University law lecture: "Head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) David Irvine AO will be at the University of Adelaide's Elder Hall on Monday evening to present a public lecture, the 2011 John Bray Oration."

'via Blog this'

Spy vs Spy: ASIO chief spooked by cyber spies

Spy vs Spy: ASIO chief spooked by cyber spies: "THE advent of cyber espionage is serving only to reinvigorate the craft of espionage, making such spying easier than ever, the ASIO chief, David Irvine, said."

'via Blog this'

Yet another free pass for Aussie spooks - Senator Scott Ludlam, government, Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011, cybercrime, convention on cybercrime, ASIO - CSO | The Resource for Data Security Executives

Yet another free pass for Aussie spooks - Senator Scott Ludlam, government, Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011, cybercrime, convention on cybercrime, ASIO - CSO | The Resource for Data Security Executives: "Something doesn't add up. ASIO is doing pretty well. So are our police. Australians sleep safer in their beds than ever before. Yet the government is rushing to pass new laws to "protect" us so fast they're even forgetting the widgets that make them work."

'via Blog this'

AUSTRALIA’S ASIO. THE FARCE CONTINUES. « And That's The Way It Is

AUSTRALIA’S ASIO. THE FARCE CONTINUES. « And That's The Way It Is: "In recent days, the Director General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), David Irvine, did a rare public interview on the Australian ABC television network. Not only was it a rare interview, it was also a rather unconvincing one given ASIO’s track record of incompetency despite the domestic spy agency having legislative powers that would make any self-respecting banana republic blush."

'via Blog this'

as posted hereas posted here

ASIO investigating more terror threats than ever - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

ASIO investigating more terror threats than ever - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): "On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Australia's top spy has revealed the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is investigating more potential threats than ever before."

'via Blog this'

Ten years on, al-Qa'ida still a threat, says Stephen Smith | The Australian

Ten years on, al-Qa'ida still a threat, says Stephen Smith | The Australian: "AL-QA'IDA still has the desire to obtain weapons of mass destruction, and the prospect of terrorists gaining such weapons remains a high priority security threat, according to Defence Minister Stephen Smith."

'via Blog this'

EDITORIAL: Terror war far from over | Courier Mail

EDITORIAL: Terror war far from over | Courier Mail: "A DECADE ago then prime minister John Howard called the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington an "act of bastardry" against the US and what its people stood for."

'via Blog this'

Australia By The Indian Ocean: al Qaeda nuclear threat to New York? Scenarios to consider.

Australia By The Indian Ocean: al Qaeda nuclear threat to New York? Scenarios to consider.: "Most of the thinking and writing about non-state actors acquiring nuclear weapons appears to have concerned al Qaeda (AQ) due to AQ's"

'via Blog this'

Calls for terrorism laws overhaul : World News Australia on SBS

Calls for terrorism laws overhaul : World News Australia on SBS: "The laws were introduced by the Howard Government in 2003 and 2005, after a number of terror attacks, including the Bali bombings in 2002 in which 88 Australians were killed. They gave the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) the power to detain people without charge, trial or conviction and conduct compulsory questioning for information gathering."

'via Blog this'

Attorney General's Department - 4 September 2011 - New national security awareness campaign

Attorney General's Department - 4 September 2011 - New national security awareness campaign: "Attorney-General Robert McClelland today announced the start of a new advertising campaign to promote the National Security Hotline over the next month."

'via Blog this'

Why fear ASIO more than Apple, or the government over Google?

Why fear ASIO more than Apple, or the government over Google?: "Why fear ASIO more than Apple, or the government instead of Google?"

'via Blog this'

The thinking man's approach to university

The thinking man's approach to university: "So no one was more surprised than Beard himself when he opted to switch from a law degree to one in philosophy. ''If someone had said to me, 'When you go to uni, you're going to be studying philosophy,' I would have ridiculed them out of the room because it wasn't something that I aspired to do or had any interest in whatsoever - in fact, quite the contrary,'' the 22-year-old-says."

'via Blog this'

ASIO checking for WikiLeaks compromises | Herald Sun

ASIO checking for WikiLeaks compromises | Herald Sun: "ASIO and other government agencies are sifting through leaked documents to determine the impact on Australian interests of a cyberattack on WikiLeaks."

'via Blog this'

PressTV - Refugees protest at abuse in Australia

PressTV - Refugees protest at abuse in Australia: "“We've got people who've been found to have valid refugee claims, established by Australia's own processes, yet the government has now turned around, saying these people, as a result of a mysterious ASIO process, are deemed a security threat and will therefore need to stay in detention indefinitely where they're going to be subjected to all sorts of degradation and abuse,” he asserted. "

'via Blog this'

ASIO spy named in global breach of WikiLeaks cables

ASIO spy named in global breach of WikiLeaks cables: "THE entire unedited collection of diplomatic cables held by WikiLeaks has been revealed on the internet, in what is a worst-case scenario for the United States and a damaging blow to the whistleblowing website."

'via Blog this'

Six women in danger dossier

Six women in danger dossier: "SIX women living in Australia have been linked by US intelligence agencies to an al-Qaeda plot to recruit women for terrorist attacks, according to a diplomatic cable discussing Australian links to the international jihadi organisation."

'via Blog this'

WikiLeaks cables on Australia: highlights from WikiLeaks cables released on Australia | Crikey

WikiLeaks cables on Australia: highlights from WikiLeaks cables released on Australia | Crikey: "
After a stoush with Jonathan Holmes on Twitter last night after Media Watch accused Fairfax of hoarding diplomatic cables for commercial purposes, WikiLeaks promised overnight to make public all available Australian cables. And just after 11.30am AEST, after an abortive released of all the Viennese cables, it released the remaining Australian cables. Here are some highlights so far, which will be updated as we go through them:"

'via Blog this'

Wikileaks publishes Aussie terror list

Wikileaks publishes Aussie terror list: "Wikileaks has published details of 23 Australians, including a NSW grandmother, believed to have links to a radical Yemeni cleric with ties to an offshoot of terrorist group al-Qaeda."

'via Blog this'

Warnings Worth Heeding (Cory Bernardi)

Warnings Worth Heeding (Cory Bernardi): "One such source is the Director-General of ASIO - Australia’s domestic national security organisation."

'via Blog this'

Russell scales up - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times

Russell scales up - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times:

 "TAKING SHAPE: Construction of the $589 million ASIO head-quarters in Parkes Way is 65 per cent complete."

'via Blog this'

Cybercrime bill has 'serious flaws', says Greens Senator Scott Ludlam | The Australian

GREENS Senator Scott Ludlam has told the Gillard government to fix "serious flaws" in its proposed Cybercrime Bill, which will force ISPs to collect real-time internet traffic data and make it available for police locally and internationally for up to 30 days.

ASIO's overseas powers dramatically expanded - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A pattern established under the Howard government - that of rapidly pushing through laws to enhance the powers of the "national security" agencies - was again repeated by the Labor Government.

2011 Media Release: President reports on Mr Al Jenabi v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Immigration and Citizenship)

President of the Australian Human Rights Commission Catherine Branson QC has released her report into a complaint made by Mr Al Jenabi who claimed his right to be free from arbitrary detention had been breached.

The ASIO Intelligence Gathering Antenna Disguised As A Pencil Pine - Local Business - Sunbury, Victoria | Facebook

Local Business - Sunbury, Victoria | Facebook

... not really sure what this is about???

Internet use ‘rampant’: ASIO boss • The Register

"The rampant use of the Internet, the democratization of communication, has resulted in new and effective means for individuals to propagate and absorb unfettered ideas and information and to be radicalized – literally, in their lounge rooms"

Mosman bomb hoax father's crim-catching software

"The 'data stream profiling' software can determine the country of origin of a person, their education, gender, whether they are left or right handed, their native language, if they're a touch typist and their year of birth just by monitoring what they type, according to a brochure listed on its website."

ASIO and me - Eureka Street

"Recently I was interviewed on the ABC 7.30 ACT television program about my Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) file. It was a human interest story to accompany an item about the current exhibition called 'Persons of Interest: The ASIO Files', in Sydney at the Justice and Police Museum. I had first learned in passing of the existence of this file from a Canberra Times journalist, Philip Dorling, sometime in 2008. It took me more than a year until February 2010 to eventually obtain my file after applying to the National Archives of Australia."

Australian government suppresses mounting unrest in refugee detention centres

"The Labor government has responded with severe repression to a wave of refugee unrest throughout Australia’s 16 detention facilities, caused by prolonged periods of detention and frustration over their uncertain future. Desperate protests by inmates, attempting to draw public attention to the abuse of their basic legal and democratic rights, are being met by police violence, the arbitrary removal of demonstrators to high-security prisons and threats by Prime Minister Gillard and her ministers to retaliate by stripping refugees of their fundamental right to asylum."

Norway-style, lone-wolf terror raids possible in Australia: ASIO | MAARS News

"AUSTRALIA could suffer the sort of lone-wolf terror attack that occurred in Norway, the head of the domestic intelligence agency warned."

'Evil' hacker had control of NBN trial partner for six weeks, say police | Information, Gadgets, Mobile Phones News & Reviews | News.com.au

"AN unemployed truck driver who goes by the online name 'Evil' has been charged with hacking into one the NBN service providers."

Local extremists the threat, says ASIO chief

"THE death of Obama bin Laden has not made Australia any safer from terrorist attacks, which most likely would come from ''home-grown'' extremists with few, if any, links to international terror organisations."

ASIO spies on activist - Government - News - Inner West Courier

"SHE’D heard the rumours, but Dr Meredith Burgmann didn’t believe her every move was being recorded by secret government agents - until she saw this photo."

The great privacy debate - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"OK, let's have a debate about privacy. But before we get around to the dastardly Murdoch press, let's be honest about a couple of things. And the first is that we have very little privacy left anyway."

Terror threat level unchanged: McClelland

: "The Sydney Opera House's image in an online jihadist magazine does not change Australia's terrorist threat level, federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland says."

'WikiLeaks amendment' gives ASIO more power | Green Left Weekly

"This would include Australian citizens involved in non-violent political activities abroad, which do not constitute a threat to Australia’s security."

Intelligence Service Legislation Amendment Bill | Greens MPs

"Senator LUDLAM: Could you please provide us, within a reasonably short time, with some details about how your views were sought and in what manner you participated? Have you assessed the potential impact of this bill on your capacity to effectively oversee ASIO?"

Phone-hacking scandal: Ministers and Mr Murdoch | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

"The fundamental problem is that there has been a massive leak of national security material. It could have only come from the task force members, that is, ASIO, AFP or VicPol."

Attorney General's Department - 5 July 2011 - National security legislation passes Parliament

"Attorney-General Robert McClelland today welcomed the passage through Parliament of improvements to laws underpinning Australia’s national security and intelligence agencies."

Muslim group active at Australian universities | thetelegraph.com.au

"UNIVERSITIES are being targeted in a recruitment drive by a radical Islamic group that urges Muslims to reject democracy and target Australian troops fighting in Afghanistan."

Asio Job Vacancies - Fast & Cheap Blog

"ASIO is putting young, inexperienced officers in senior jobs, as the domestic spy agency struggles to absorb an influx of recruits hired in an unprecedented expansion."

News Weekly

"Innocent Australian lives have been put at grave risk in the last few weeks following the latest leaks of highly confidential counter-terrorist information to the media. A former senior intelligence officer John Miller asks whether Australia will have to suffer a major terrorist attack before proper action is taken."

News Weekly

"In the early 1990s, it was revealed that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had conducted a high-level operation inside ASIO - an almost unprecedented action."

Building a movement: some lessons from Swan Island / Waging Nonviolence

"Swan Island is one of two major training facilities for SAS troops, as well as the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS)."

Don’t let the FBI steal your server, says Ninefold | Delimiter

"Crossfield concludes that the same situation could happen in Australia – with ASIO or the Federal Police taking the part of the FBI. However, he adds, at least there might be some more due process around such an event, and you might have a legal leg to stand on in your own jurisdiction."

Australian charged with spying for Hamas - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"An Australian man has faced court in Israel charged with spying for Hamas."

Fat cats' money to burn on the barbie | thetelegraph.com.au

"IT'S the mother of all barbecue stoppers - a $542,190 bill to construct a roof on a barbecue area so federal public servants are protected from the glare of the sun."

Dr Meredith Bergmann - ABC Queensland - Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

"Do you think you have a Police Special Branch file? Many people do and now SBS TV is putting together a documentary series to be screened later this year called 'persons of interest: the ASIO file'."

Cuts 'will significantly impact' spy operations - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"Some of the nation's spy agencies are feeling the pressure of the Federal Government's efficiency dividend with a report recommending a review of the impact it is having on operational activities."

Report reveals spy agencies' secret pain over cuts - National News - National - General - The Canberra Times

"Some spy agencies are feeling the pinch as a result of the efficiency dividend, with one warning any additional reduction in their budget will ''significantly impact operational activities''."

ASIO watchdog needs more money: report

"The intelligence and security watchdog needs a bigger budget if it is going to properly monitor the seemingly ever-growing domestic spy agency ASIO."

How Australia can solve it's asylum seeker 'problem'

"There should be an independent judicial examination of adverse reports by ASIO on would-be immigrants to Australia. The nature of the decision on refugee status and the grounds for the decision should be available to the review. The review should report to Parliament and ASIO should have no capacity to censor any part of it. The secrecy surrounding these matters, the inability of people to learn why they have been denied residence in Australia, is shameful."

‘Nothing short of Orwellian’ | Castlemaine Independent

"The Australian Greens have labelled a Government plan to significantly broaden ASIO’s mandate ‘nothing short of Orwellian’. And the Australian Law Council has written:"

ASIO » Careers - Overview

"Overview
It is no secret; our organisation is a unique workplace. You will experience a career unlike any other.

As a team, we protect Australia from threats to national security.

You’re probably wondering if you’ve ‘got what it takes’ or are ‘what ASIO’s looking for’. Our employees come from many different backgrounds and skill sets. In fact, we actively seek a diverse workforce. Our roles include a wide range of operational roles, such as Collection Officers, Intelligence Analysts and Surveillance Officers, through to a variety of specialist technical positions, administration and many other roles you would expect to find in any large organisation.

If you are interested in a career with ASIO, visit our Current Vacancies page, or for more information on a job family click Learn More below to read about each job family."

Wikileaks: Government coy on ASIO amendment target | Crikey

"A senior attorney-general bureaucrat has struggled to explain to a Senate committee the rationale for amendments broadening ASIO’s remit to spy on organisations overseas and tried to duck questions about whether the amendment would enable ASIO to spy on WikiLeaks."

Now tobacco can save us from mobsters, whores, terrorists...

"A SHORT film that appears to be based on a John le Carre spy novel - think people smugglers, prostitutes, terrorists - is the latest salvo in the tobacco industry's battle against federal government plans to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes."

Barnett 'irresponsible' on cyber attacks

"The WA opposition has branded Premier Colin Barnett irresponsible for revealing that ASIO was called in when the government fell victim to international cyber hacking."

Historic Houses Trust - Persons of interest: the ASIO files

"It‘s estimated that ASIO files have been opened on more than half a million Australians; it's possible you might be a ‘person of interest’."

Boost in ASIO powers set for rubber stamp | Greens MPs

"The Australian Greens have raised concerns about the lack of scrutiny of a Government bid to expand the powers of ASIO."

WA Govt 'victim of espionage': Barnett - The West Australian

"Premier Colin Barnett has called in ASIO to help the State Government with its computer security problem, suggesting that Government departments and WA business had been the victims of industrial espionage."

The FINANCIAL - Raising awareness of Chemicals of Security Concern

"The FINANCIAL -- Attorney-General Robert McClelland said the Government has today published a list of Chemicals of Security Concern to help stop chemicals that could be used in a terrorist attack getting into the wrong hands."

WATERFORD: The war on crime fighters - Opinion - Editorial - General - The Canberra Times

"To that, of course, one must add several thousand people added to ASIO and other intelligence and security bodies."

Former spy wins right to compensation - National News - National - General - The Canberra Times

"A former spy who says his work for ASIO induced a mental disorder has won the right to compensation."

Fears terrorists could use chemical weapons in Australia | thetelegraph.com.au

"FEARS terrorists could use chemical weapons in Australia has sparked a $10 million awareness campaign that lists 'dangerous' chemicals for the first time."

Dupes and subversives: the banal dross in ASIO files

"For the past five years, film director Haydn Keenan has spent endless hours poring over the newly released files which ASIO - the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation - kept on potential enemies of the state in the 1960s and '70s."

ASIO | Greens MPs

"Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee Wednesday 25 May 2011"

ANU College of Asia and the Pacific - Desmond Ball - CAP - ANU

Desmond Ball, BEc (Hons), PhD
Professor, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, School of International, Political & Strategic Studies

Research interests

Australian defence; nuclear strategy; Asia-Pacific security.

Key publications

• Politics and Force Levels: The Strategic Missile Program of the Kennedy Administration, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1980.
• A Suitable Piece of Real Estate: American Installations in Australia, Hale and Iremonger, Sydney, 1980.
• Can Nuclear War be Controlled?, Adelphi Paper No. 169, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, Autumn 1981.
• Targeting for Strategic Deterrence, Adelphi Paper No. 185, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, Summer 1983.
• (ed. with Jeffrey Richelson) Strategic Nuclear Targeting, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1986.
• A Base for Debate: The US Satellite Station at Nurrungar, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, London and Boston, 1987.
• Pine Gap: Australia and the US Geostationary Signals Intelligence Satellite Program, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1988.
• (ed. with Helen Wilson) Strange Neighbours: The Indonesia-Australia Relationship, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1991.
• (ed.) Aborigines in the Defence of Australia, Australian National University Press, Sydney, 1991.
• Signals Intelligence in the Post-Cold War Era: Developments in the Asia-Pacific Region, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, 1993.
• (with Pauline Kerr) Presumptive Engagement: Australia's Asia-Pacific Security Policy in the 1990s, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1996.
• (ed.) The Transformation of Security in the Asia/Pacific Region, Frank Cass & Co, London, 1996.
• Burma's Military Secrets: Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) from the Second World War to Civil War and Cyber Warfare, White Lotus Press, Bangkok, 1998.
• (with David Horner) Breaking the Codes: The KGB's Network in Australia, 1944-1950, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1998.
• (with Hamish McDonald) Death in Balibo, Lies in Canberra, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2000.
• The Boys in Black: The Thahan Phran (Rangers), Thailand's Para-military Border Guards (White Lotus, Bangkok, 2004).
• The Probabilities of On the Beach: Assessing 'Armageddon Scenarios' in the 21st Century, Working Paper No. 401, SDSC, May 2006.

Career highlights

Head of the Strategic & Defence Studies Centre (1984-91); personal chair in RSPAS (1987); FASSA (1986); member of the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (1995-2001); Co-chairman of the Steering Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) (2000-2002).

Australia By The Indian Ocean: So Cisco Colludes with the NSA - Big Deal!

Australia By The Indian Ocean: So Cisco Colludes with the NSA - Big Deal!

PM invoked rare constitution section to re-hire Henry - National News - National - General - The Canberra Times

"Prime Minister Julia Gillard invoked a rarely used section of the constitution to re-hire former Treasury secretary Ken Henry."

ASIO power directed to silencing “soft” targets in Australia | Green Left Weekly

"Surveillance of and interference with Australian analysts, writers and other professionals standard practice"

Taking on water and headed for the rocks

"Reports have said ASIO is investigating alleged links between Huawei's workforce and the People's Liberation Army, which have also been criticised by the US Department of Defence."

Huawei names John Brumby, Alexander Downer board members | The Australian

"CHINA'S Huawei Technologies has appointed Liberal and Labor elders, Alexander Downer and John Brumby, to its Australian board in a bid to secure part of the $1 billion-plus National Broadband Network technology deal."

Habib's Egyptian lifeline

"THE Egyptian lawyer of the former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib flew into Sydney yesterday and volunteered to give evidence at an inquiry into what Australian agencies knew about Mr Habib's detention and torture in Egypt."

Call for more money to fight growing cyber arms race

"THE former head of Australia's elite military cyber unit has called on the government to speed up its response to the emerging ''cyber arms race'', saying more funding is needed for key civilian agencies."

Security concern as cyber threat grows | The Australian

"THE Gillard government has become so concerned about attacks on the computer systems of industry and the public sector it will produce a white paper focusing largely on cyber security."

Australia to defend itself in cyber war

"AUSTRALIA will create its first national cyber strategy to confront the growing threat posed by electronic espionage, theft and state-sponsored cyber attack, with one of the country's most respected public servants revealing his department endures ''daily'' electronic intrusions."

BURMESE ROHINGYA REFUGEE’S HUNGER STRIKE ENTERS THIRD WEEK OVER ASIO SECURITY CLEARANCE | Refugee Action Coalition Sydney

"After 11 months waiting for his ASIO security clearance, with his wife and four children barely surviving on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Villawood refugee Sayad Kasim, has reached breaking point."

ASIO | Greens MPs

"It is government policy that ASIO not comment on operational matters."

ASIO chief calls movement alert list 'very fallible' | LivePunjab

"According to the ASIO chief, the movement alert list prepared by the Oz Immigration Department"

Why the new ASIO bill must be stopped | WL Central

"A new development in global law harmonization against the perpetual War on Everything is a new amended bill being passed through Australian Parliament, which will further fatten up ASIO’s capabilities to spy on Australians and anyone else abroad."

Australia warns on cyber attacks on resource firms | Reuters

"Australia's government urged companies on Monday to tighten vigilance over cyber attacks launched offshore against some of the world's biggest resource firms and other businesses, warning high-tech threats were intensifying."

Costly veil of secrecy descends over PS - Local News - News - General - The Canberra Times

"The shift has also forced ASIO to devote more resources than ever to vetting bureaucrats and government contractors."

Spy chief deems terror list 'fallible'

"ONE of the front lines in the fight against terrorism - the Immigration Department's list of people who present a possible security risk to Australia - has been labelled ''very fallible'' by the head of the country's chief intelligence agency, ASIO."

Director-General of Security David Irvine, seemed to express dissatisfaction with the list people who present a possible security risk to Australia. Photo: Andrew Taylor

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/spy-chief-deems-terror-list-fallible-20110527-1f8tu.html#ixzz1NdrGn5yi

Turning a blind eye to espionage | The Australian

"This was the period in which, as he later wrote, 'I had no misgivings about our society in Australia being swept into the dustbin of human history by the communists', and in which he saw ASIO and its head, Charles Spry, as presumptive men with bourgeois values attempting to 'decide what we should read, think and do'."

Did Simon Overland misuse his powers? | The Australian

"Despite the early advice of ASIO, which had concluded that the so-called evidence was silly and that Haneef was a harmless doctor doing his best with cancer patients at a Gold Coast hospital, police and the Howard government immigration minister, Kevin Andrews, pressed on."

Habib cleared, gets passport back

"Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib has been cleared of being a national security threat and has had his Australian passport returned."

Terrorism very real: ASIO chief

"THE killing of Osama bin Laden was a symbolic victory but will not diminish the terrorist threat to Australia, even as the dangers posed by cyber espionage and cyber theft continue to grow, the head of Australia's most powerful spy agency says."

Defence to investigate fake security checks - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"Defence Minister Stephen Smith has announced that security clearances on Defence personnel will be rechecked after allegations that staff were told to fabricate them."

ASIO reviews security after site break-in - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"Australian spy agency ASIO is reviewing its security after a man broke into the grounds of its new premises in Canberra earlier this year."

Prime Minister and Cabinet - Wiki Leaks and Julian Assange | Greens MPs

"I will put these questions to ASIO when we get them a little bit later in the week but I presume they will refer me back to the minister because they are policy questions and not strictly operational."

PM briefed a dozen times on WikiLeaks - Security - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au

"National security advisors have met with Australian Prime Minister Gillard on a total of 12 occasions to brief the PM on the fallout of information contained in cables leaked to whistleblowing site, WikiLeaks."

WikiLeaks and other online groups may no longer be out of ASIO's reach

"The amendments, now before a Senate committee, aim to broaden ASIO’s role to collecting “foreign intelligence” for ASIS and DSD, which could include spying on groups such as WikiLeaks and any people in Australia associated with it on behalf of the two spy organisations."

Audience on their feet for a fraud who called bin Laden his brother

"It is easy to establish that David Hicks is a fraud."

Comment: Where is Australia's cybercrime data? - Security - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au

"Does it not strike you as odd to hear the Federal Government rabbiting on about the importance of cybercrime, hosting 'cybersecurity awareness week' and proposing an internet filter, while we continue to be a hostage to the data they are given from interested parties such as rights holders, security software and local police?”"

Al-Qa'ida's link to Sydney mum | The Australian

"THE veteran jihadist reportedly appointed as interim leader of al-Qa'ida is related by marriage to Australian woman Rabiah Hutchinson, a long-time target of Australia's domestic security agency ASIO because of her links to Islamic militants."

Greens wary of expanding ASIO's powers - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"The Greens have raised concerns about a bill that would broaden ASIO's powers to gather intelligence, saying there should be more debate about the issue."

Australia's vassal state relationship to the United States | Independent Australia

"The construction and operation of US installations remained totally under US control and authority until quite recently. The Australian intelligence community (both counter-intelligence and military) also had the deepest connections with the British and the Americans. This goes back in the founding of ASIO and ASIS and the administrative relationship between the Australian Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) and the US National Security Agency (NSA). This relationship continues to this day."

The World Today - 'Cloud' over embassy military security 17/05/2011

"It strikes me that the minister has another major problem on his hands that goes back several years. There needs to be clearly - and the minister will have just another review - this is a problem that has infected security clearances across bases, embassies, all the way down the line into ASIO (Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation)."

Time for Australia to more actively engage Arab states - Opinion - Editorial - General - The Canberra Times

"We seem to be worried about security risks associated with entrants."

The function of a teaser video - PC Games - Game - Features - Atomic MPC

"... to the opposite end of the spectrum for those ASIO agents in training that watch the video on loop, dissecting the tiniest possible clues frame by painful frame."

Lateline - 16/05/2011: Whistleblowers allege security holes in Defence

"Three Defence whistleblowers say they have been directly ordered by superiors to falsify security checks on civilian and military personnel."

Independent Review of the Intelligence Community - Australian Human Rights Commission Submission (2011)

"The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Independent Review of the Intelligence Community."

ASIS sets sights on people smugglers

"The government is ramping up the war on people smuggling, providing $14.8 million to Australia's overseas intelligence agency."

Spy base | China's planned East Timor facility failed

"just another part of China's growing intelligence activity through Asia and beyond"

Australia, the United States ‘Yes Man’ - On Line Opinion - 9/5/2011

"The forces necessary to build any invasion force would be significant and require time. Surely even the Australian intelligence services and ADF might notice that this was occurring."

Terror too hard between wars | The Australian

"AS Osama bin Laden's death was celebrated by Americans on New York streets a little like on 1945's V-J Day, Julia Gillard cautioned Australians that 'our war against terrorism must continue'."

Triumph of the dills on Osama - bureaucrats ruined great PR victory | thetelegraph.com.au

"A former secret agent with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, who does not want to be identified, said the bin Laden mission, conducted by US Navy SEALs and other operatives, was an even greater special forces triumph than the Entebbe rescue in Uganda in 1976, when Israeli special forces freed 103 hostages from a hijacked airliner."

Kevin Rudd in row over Osama bin Laden ally Umar Patek's arrest | The Australian

"He declared it 'a potential major step forward in the fight against terrorism'."

Seeking a balance between intelligence and citizen rights | The Jakarta Post

"For example, MI-5 in the United Kingdom and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) are neither armed nor have arrest powers. Operations requiring police authority are conducted in coordination with law enforcement."

Unchecked visitors gain access to secure areas at airports and docks | The Australian

"The federal Auditor-General said a range of gaps in the security regime protecting the sensitive facilities was allowing an unknown number of visitors through without ASIO checks."

Department of Management hosted Director-General of ASIO « News and Events

The Department of Management recently hosted Mr David Irvine AO, the Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. Mr Irvine delivered a presentation on the ethical and moral dimensions of leadership."

Osama bin Laden death won't change Australia's security budget | Adelaide Now

"The death of Osama bin Laden will have no impact on the major focus in the national security budget - the continued construction of the massive new multi-storey headquarters for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation."

US didn't tell PM's office about bin Laden | Adelaide Now

"Asked how she found out, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was told before the Prime Minister's office."

bin laden | celebration | sovereignty

"In a similar vein, people applying for a licence to use blasting explosives in Australia have to take an ASIO security check. I'm not sure many terrorists would bother with getting a licence to use explosives."

Public projects driving ACT investments - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"Non-residential construction includes the new ASIO headquarters and work on the precinct near the Australian National University."

WikiLeaks: telling it like it is

"I have been reliably told that ASIO played an active part in the investigation into Assange"

Airport worker breach highlights security risks | The Australian

"The Transport Department requires people who work airside on a regular or permanent basis to be checked by ASIO, law enforcement agencies and, where necessary, the Immigration Department."

Questions on Habib torture

"The then head of ASIO, Dennis Richardson, now the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs, was asked the next day what he knew about the US practice of sending prisoners to other countries such as Egypt for interrogation. He said: ''We have no information as of fact about that.''"

'Red Evatt' claims don't stand up | The Australian

"My first reason for suggesting that the evidence should be rejected is that in the early 1950s any fool would have known that ASIO would have such a premises under surveillance, so it was hardly a state secret, but in any event clearly that information could only be a leak from ASIO itself, and again any fool would know that ASIO did not leak to either Evatt or Dalziel."

Secret US files on Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks released by WikiLeaks | The Australian

"FORMER Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib told Egyptian interrogators under 'extreme duress' he planned to hijack a Qantas plane and had prior knowledge of the September 11 attacks on the United States, according to newly-released WikiLeaks files."

Spies, lies and archives

"The recently released ASIO files, however, shed new light on left-wing Labor senator and Whitlam government minister John Wheeldon, who last year was identified by journalist and author Mark Aarons as a possible secret Australian Communist Party member, a claim vehemently denied by Wheeldon's son and Labor veterans including former New South Wales premier Bob Carr."

Asylum seeker pleads for compassion - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

"He was granted refugee status three months ago and is waiting for ASIO to check his security status."

Australia and US sign secret satellite spy deal

"AUSTRALIA and the United States have begun a partnership to share top-secret intelligence from spy satellites as Australia moves to acquire its own satellite to boost surveillance of Asia and the Pacific."

Israel calls Aussie man a Hamas spy | The Australian

: "Among them was Sydney woman Shyloh Giddins, whose passport was cancelled at ASIO's request while she was in Yemen."

Jetstar to sue over 'theatrical' Sydney Airport evacuation | Crikey

"ASIC cards are essentially issued on the basis of background checks including by ASIO."

The challenge of intelligence by Allan Gyngell AO - Lowy Institute for International Policy Publication

"On 30 March, Allan Gyngell, Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, and former Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, spoke at the Institute’s annual Canberra Dinner on 'The challenges of intelligence'."

Emails between MPs and miners stolen - The West Australian

"The West Australian _understands that spy agency ASIO is particularly concerned about the theft of emails between Gillard Government minsters and a small number of major Australian resources companies doing business with Beijing."

Habib sues Egyptian Vice-President for torture | The Australian

"Mr Habib does not have a current Australian passport as he is still deemed by the security agency ASIO to be a security risk."

Australia Forum would be an asset - Opinion - Editorial - General - The Canberra Times

"Unfortunately, however, the Commonwealth's enthusiasm for funding anything in Canberra new and refurbished buildings for ASIO and the AFP aside is close to zero"

Blackmail warning as cyber raids target MPs | Adelaide Now

"Sources have confirmed that DSD advised that the passwords of selected MPs and their staff had been stolen."

Schneier on Security: How did the CIA and FBI Know that Australian Government Computers were Hacked?

"How did the CIA and FBI Know that Australian Government Computers were Hacked?"

loon pond

"I have read tens of thousands of pages of declassified ASIO files during the past quarter of a century, demonstrating that Spry's ASIO was involved in unprofessional, even odious operations."

Australian spies | Charles Spry | MI5 files released

"First, according to a top-secret cable, Sir Charles Spry, the director-general of ASIO, advised that, in the event of the Labor leader, Bert Evatt, becoming prime minister after the 1954 election, the British government should withhold important secrets from Australia."

Refugees escape and join protest | Green Left Weekly

"Many of the young people inside are recognised as refugees and some have been waiting more than three months for security clearances from ASIO."

High-tech firm drops its defences

"A COMPANY that provides high-tech electronic components to the Australian military and multinational firms allowed its customers' financial details to be accessed on the internet in an embarrassing security lapse."

CHRISTIANCONSPIRACY.ORG - worlds inteligence agebcies

"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service was founded in 1952. For more than twenty years, the existence of the agency was a secret even from its own government."

Net Traveller: ASIO Recruiting IT Spies with Google Ads

"It was a little surprising to find the Austrlaian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) advertising for Information Technology staff via good ad-words advertisements on my web site."

Feeling free by acting free | Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

"But I am very concerned with constraints on freedom of expression created by draconian anti-terrorism laws that were barely debated in parliaments and are now taken for granted as part of our political landscape, even though they leave us open to selective surveillance, raids and prosecution – and even prevent people from telling anyone that they have been questioned by ASIO. Writing in Griffith Review in 2006,"

Dow Jones Australia Warns Top Companies On Cyber Spy Threat

"Australia's top intelligence agencies delivered the warning, the Office of National Assessments and the Defence Signals Directorate, while there were also discussions with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and Federal Police."

Spies, lies and life lessons | The Australian

"But the material, along with other revelations that ASIO chief Charles Spry warned M15 during the 1954 Petrov affair that Britain should consider withholding intelligence information from a Labor government, confirm the complete breakdown of the normal bonds of trust between political leaders and bureaucrats in this period."

'Amateur-hour diplomacy' got US alliance off to a shaky start | The Australian

"It was 1948 and the US government had warned Australia and Britain that Washington was going to stop sharing secret information with Australia unless it set up its own intelligence service to improve security in Australia."

ASIO was forced to pay the Petrovs' price | The Australian

"'ASIO are fully alive to the possibility of Russian Intelligence Service agents being introduced into Australia in the free-for-all conditions of the Olympic Games and the temporary relaxation of visa requirements,' a British agent reported in MI5 documents that were opened to the public this week."

Australia Warns Top Companies On Cyber Spy Threat | Real Time Market News | Dow Jones

"Australia's top intelligence agencies delivered the warning, the Office of National Assessments and the Defence Signals Directorate, while there were also discussions with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and Federal Police."

NewsMaker - MGM Wireless moves SMS school messaging systems to high security cloud-based ICO Data Centre

"“The ICO Data Centre has an ASIO T4 security clearance and both the Data Centre and ICO Support Operations are also ISO/IEC 27001 certified to the ISO quality standard. Network Connectivity has three levels of redundancies.

Australian Secret Intelligence Service H.Q., Barton Australia

"The R.G. Casey building houses the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trad contains the intelligence service."

Intelligence Services

"The Australian Intelligence Community consists of eight organizations that combine oversight, assessments, and collection of intelligence information."