Australian intel chief Mike Burgess reveals foreign spy network

Sydney:

The head of Australia’s main intelligence agency on Wednesday revealed the existence of an “A-Team” of foreign spies who for years recruited Australian academics, politicians and businessmen to gain access to sensitive political, economic and defense information. Is of.

In an extremely rare public revelation of counter-espionage operations, Australia’s Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, revealed the existence of an entity belonging to an unnamed country out to disrupt ongoing operations.

“At the moment there is a special team in a special foreign intelligence service that has a special focus on Australia – we are its priority target,” Burgess said in a speech in Canberra.

“We call them the ‘A-Team’ – the Australia team.”

He said, “Many of the guys here tonight are almost certainly high-value targets. The team is aggressive and experienced; its business acumen is good – but not good enough.”

Burgess, who runs the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), said the unit had targeted Australians with access to “privileged information” on social networking sites by using “false, English personas” and promising cash rewards.

“Spies pose as consultants, head-hunters, local government officials, academics and think tank researchers and claim to be from fictitious companies such as Data 31,” he said.

“If a target takes the bait, spies try to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging app. The next step may include offering to travel abroad to meet in person.”

He outlined examples when the approach had been successful, drawing on information from an academic and an unnamed former politician who “sold out their country, party and former allies to advance the interests of a foreign regime”.

“At one point, the former politician had even proposed bringing the Prime Minister’s family member under the spies’ net,” he said.

– Spy vs Spy –

Explaining why he had made public information about the unit, its operations and the espionage measures taken against it, Burgess said he wanted to warn Australians about the risks.

“On one professional networking site alone, 14,000 Australians are publicly claiming to have security clearance or to work in the intelligence community. Some even describe themselves as intelligence officers,” he said.

Australia is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group that includes the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand – making it an attractive target for operatives from countries such as China and Russia.

But Burgess said he also wanted to let the other country know that its spies had been harassed and that the unit’s team leader had come face to face with Australia’s own spies.

He said, “We want the A-Team to know that its cover has been blown. We want the owners of the A-Team to know that its cover has been blown.”

“If the team leader failed to report our conversations to his spymasters, he will now have to explain why he did not do so, as well as how ASIO knew so much about his team’s operations and identity.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)