Global terrorism threats are ‘re-emerging’, but Australia’s threat level unchanged, spy boss says

Australia’s security threat level will remain at “probable” despite the country’s spy chief warning he is “gravely concerned” about its temperature and trajectory.

ASIO Director General Mike Burgess said Australia’s security environment was “degraded” in his annual threat assessment on Wednesday; This was the first time since Australia was rocked by the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach and the allegedly botched bomb attack at an Invasion Day rally in Perth.

Mr Burgess, constrained by the ongoing Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, sought to “put this attack into context”.

“The context of a deteriorating global and domestic security environment in which a small group of extremists turn to violence with little or no warning is shocking, but unfortunately not surprising,” Mr. Burgess said.

He added that it should not be surprising that “an Australian has been killed by a Foreign Government on Australian soil”.

Australia’s long-time espionage chief has sought to paint a “candid” picture of Australia’s security threats following Australia’s worst-ever terrorist attack.

Mr Burgess warned that “great power competition” and conflict in the Middle East was leading to “excessive levels” of foreign interference and espionage and straining social cohesion, increasing the likelihood of violence.

“At the same time, global terrorist threats are also re-emerging,” he said.

“Traditional groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda and their affiliates are increasing their ability to carry out and inspire attacks afforded by tolerant geographic and online spaces.

“These groups continue to view Western interests as legitimate targets.”

He said that as the dust settled from Iran’s war with the US and Israel, the Islamic Republic still viewed Australia as “a legitimate target for covertly directed acts of violence”.

“We assess there is a realistic possibility that the group operating in Europe could expand its networks to this part of the world and commit or inspire acts of arson, vandalism or even assassination on Australian soil,” he said.

Mr Burgess said ASIO was aware of at least five regimes targeting Australians through espionage, with many of the victims critical of foreign regimes.

“ASIO recently caught two officers trying to overpower their targets in a Victorian fast food restaurant,” he said.

However, Mr Burgess said the security threat level would remain likely.

Politically motivated violence is also an “acute concern,” he said, adding, “I want to elaborate on the terrorist threat tonight in some detail because I am seriously concerned about its temperature and tenor.”

“Australia’s terrorism threat level remains at POSSIBLE, but I do not believe the system is designed for a situation like the one we are currently facing. Not LIKELY.”

“Tell the whole story,” he said.

Mr Burgess said EXPECTED (next threat level) is implemented when ASIO has intelligence about a particular attack.

“We don’t know. But we do know that the environment has degraded and politically motivated acts of violence have become more likely than POSSIBLE suggests,” he said.

“Just as climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather but not specific storms, politically motivated violence, including acts of terrorism, is more likely even if we cannot predict a specific attack,” he said.

“In the current environment, it would be overly simplistic to assume that there is a single terrorist threat, or possibly one terrorist threat.”

Acknowledging the focus on Sunni Islamic extremism following the Bondi attack, Burgess said the force had since dealt with extremists “across the ideological spectrum”.

“They include someone who allegedly combines ideological and extreme Christian beliefs, and someone who is allegedly inspired by far-left ideology,” he said.

Mr Burgess said individuals were increasingly radicalized alone and online, rather than in groups or “houses of worship”.

“And rather than spending time and resources planning sophisticated attacks, radicalized individuals are turning to low-capacity attacks with little or no warning,” he said.

“These dynamics make the contemporary terrorist environment different, and in some ways more difficult, than what we see with Al Qaeda and ISIS.”

Mr Burgess said even a “vast army of ASIO case officers and surveillance officers” may not be enough to stop a person radicalizing online.

Mr Burgess also noted that antisemitism was “sadly and ironically” a common theme among Islamist and neo-Nazi extremists and some “issue-focused” extremists.

“Nation states can be antisemitic,” he said, noting ASIO’s arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne allegedly coordinated by Iran.

“Anarchists and revolutionary groups can be antisemitic. This receives surprisingly little media coverage, but Australian companies thought to have links to Israel have been subjected to repeated acts of vandalism and arson by far-left activists,” he said.

Mr Burgess sought to draw a line between criticism of the government in Israel but warned that “some of the threatening statements made by the perpetrators go far beyond political protests or comments”.

Critical infrastructure was attacked, AUKUS was targeted

In his 16-page assessment, Mr Burgess also revealed that ASIO had discovered that nation-state hackers had “compromised the network of an Australian critical infrastructure provider”.

“ASIO assessed that hackers were preparing for sabotage,” he said.

“They weren’t deploying ‘digital dynamite’ this way; they were mapping the network and maintaining access so they could cripple it at a time of their choosing.”

Mr Burgess said the group not only gained access to the provider but also “successfully obtained credentials (login details and passwords) for active users of the networks, including the IT professionals who maintain it”.

“ASIO identified, tracked and attributed the attack and worked with the victim company and our security partners to remediate the compromise; this work is ongoing,” he said.

Mr Burgess said ASIO’s understanding of and concern about cyber sabotage was growing.

“It is difficult to overstate the scale of this activity, especially when it is led by a nation state,” Mr. Burgess said.

“We have difficulty finding a single country in our region that is not endangered by this state’s cyber devices.

“Critical infrastructures in the energy and communications sectors, as well as infrastructures supporting the military, are priority targets.”

Mr Burgess warned that even countries considered friendly had identified AUKUS as a priority target.

“A spy from a foreign intelligence service approached an Australian security clearance holder online, pretending to be from a consultancy,” he said.

“The spy paid the official to write two reports on Australia’s relations with our Pacific neighbors and then offered money for inside information on AUKUS, thinking he had been duped.

“The foreign intelligence service wanted information on the progress of Pillar 1, the technologies of Pillar 2, the amount of money invested, Australia’s geo-strategic objectives, the relations between the three AUKUS governments and the possible course of Australian public opinion.”

Mr Burgess said the permit holder became suspicious and reported the contact.

“When my officers interviewed the permit holder, they gained valuable insight into the foreign service’s knowledge gaps and business skills,” he said.

“The person even handed over the money he received from the spies to write the previous reports.

“In effect, ASIO disrupted the functioning of foreign intelligence agencies and made them pay for the privilege.”

Mr Burgess said officers went so far as to use the official’s phone to call the consultant and demand that he stop targeting Australian citizens.

“At this point the spy hung up. Message received,” he said.

“In order to bring this matter to rest, and in case he did not report our interaction, my officers escalated the matter directly to the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS).”