Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/CANBERRA: Australia has busted a “hive” of spies who had been operating in the country for years, according to the country’s intelligence chief.
Australian Security Intelligence Director-General Mike Burgess did not mention any countries behind the network but said the undercover operatives were “highly skilled”. He claimed that the group used to research and “potentially seduce” targets such as judges, journalists and veterans.
He went on to say that it demonstrates that the threat posed by foreign secret agents is at an all-time high. During his annual threat assessment in Canberra, the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (Asio) chief outlined a “concerted campaign” to invade the Australian media to shape reporting and gain information on sources.
He claimed that a “lackey” planned to provide journalists with all-expenses-paid study tours of a foreign country, where secret agents with “home-ground advantage” would seek information to leverage.
Plot of harming Residents of Australia by spies
Burgess also detailed foiled plots by spies from two different countries to harm Australian residents physically, just a week after the government revealed an Iranian plot targeting an Australian dissident had been foiled. He did not name the countries again but stated that the targets were critics of foreign regimes.
He claimed that the intelligence service began monitoring a human rights activist in one case and plotted to lure the target offshore, where the individual could be “disposed of,” quote. Burgess claimed that Asio had eliminated the spies through an “intense and sustained” campaign. However, the threat posed by foreign intelligence has grown, according to Burgess, particularly since Australia signed the Aukus security agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom.
Burgess also used his speech to criticize thousands of “reckless” Australians who advertise their security clearances on social media networking sites and former Australian defense personnel who participate in foreign military training programs. Burgess stated that our allies must know we can keep our secrets and theirs.
