Australian Signals Directorate

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The Australian Signals Directorate ( ASD ; German  Australian Directorate for Signals ) is an information security authority and an intelligence service of the Australian Ministry of Defense based in Canberra .

The legal tasks include:

  • Obtaining information by electronic communication about the skills, intentions or activities of any person or organization outside of Australia,
  • supplying the Australian Government with information obtained in this way in accordance with their requirements,
  • providing material, advice and other assistance to Commonwealth and State authorities on issues relating to the security and integrity of information that is processed, stored or communicated by electronic or similar means,
  • the support of military operations of the Australian Defense Force , ( Australian Defense Force )
  • cooperation with the Australian Defense Forces on intelligence issues,
  • assisting Commonwealth and state authorities in relation to cryptography , computer and communication technologies and other specialized technologies that the ASD has acquired in connection with the performance of its duties, and
  • Search and rescue assistance from Commonwealth and state agencies.

These tasks are regulated in the Intelligence Services Act 2001 of October 1, 2001. The agency has had its current name since May 3, 2013, previously it was called Defense Signals Directorate (DSD) .

The National Security Committee of the Cabinet determines the requirements and priorities for gathering information for the ASD. Signals intelligence (Sigint) role ( Memento from October 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

Department of Defense Intelligence and Security Group and other Australian intelligence agencies

The Australian Signals Directorate is part of the Department of Defense Intelligence and Security Group, along with the two intelligence services:

and the fourth agency

  • Defense Security Authority (DSA), which provides security services to the ministry.

In addition to military intelligence, the Australian government also maintains the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the domestic intelligence service .

Foreign cooperation

Martin Brady, the then director of the DSD, reported on March 16, 1999 in the Sunday program of the Australian television broadcaster Channel 9 TV that the Australian signaling news service not only works closely with the Commonwealth of Great Britain , Canada and New Zealand , but has also been working closely with the UKUSA since 1947 -Agreement also ongoing with the USA . The intelligence services of these five nations, which specialize in siphoning off electronic communications, are also known as " Five Eyes ". For more details see UKUSA agreement .

Task information security

Definition of tasks and self-image

The directorate's website states that cyber and information security is a top national security priority for Australia. Cyber ​​attacks on government, critical infrastructure and other information networks are a real threat to Australia's national security and interests. Almost every part of society depends on electronic systems and electronically stored information. The Internet helps all levels of government in Australia to deliver services and conduct business flexibly and efficiently. Australia's trust in information and communication technology also makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks that could disrupt the government's business. In order to counter these dangers, Australia needs the ability to develop strong information security. The effectiveness of Australian cyber and information security is based on law, politics, organization, training and awareness, as much as it is on technology. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) has a crucial role to play in Australian cyber and information security. It is the Commonwealth Information Security Agency.

Cyber ​​Security Operations Center

In January 2010, the agency established the Cyber ​​Security Operations Center to develop a thorough understanding of information technology and critical systems security threats, and to coordinate government and industry responses to these threats.

bases

History and previous names

In the time before the Second World War , the Australian Navy, Army and Air Force maintained units for listening to enemy or foreign radio signals and for locating enemy or foreign units.

The personnel of these units were pooled during World War II to support General MacArthur's military campaign in the Southwest Pacific by intercepting and decoding Japanese radio signals. This association is considered to be the hour of birth of the ASD. From the beginning of 1942, Australian, American and British personnel worked together in the Central Bureau in Melbourne , General MacArthurs' headquarters. At the same time, the joint Australian-American fleet radio unit Melbourne (FRUMEL) supported the 7th fleet of the US Navy . In late 1942, the central office moved to MacArthur's new headquarters in Brisbane . Parts of the units were used with him in the Philippines later in the war .

On July 23, 1946, the Australian government approved the establishment of a military intelligence service also for peacetime. The new Defense Signals Bureau began operations on November 12, 1947 in the Albert Park Barracks in Melbourne. Right from the start, his duties were intelligence gathering and ensuring communications security for armed forces and government agencies. The service was renamed Defense Signals Branch in October 1949 and later Defense Signals Division in January 1964 . In 1977 it was reformed and renamed the Defense Signals Directorate .

In 1979 the service moved from Albert Park to a newly built headquarters in the historic Victoria Barracks, also in Melbourne. In 1986, the Service acquired Australia's first supercomputer , a Cray Research System, which was exhibited at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney in 1994 after being shut down .

In June 1988, the government decided to move the service to the Russell office building in Canberra to enable closer collaboration with the other intelligence, defense and government departments. The move was completed in two phases over Christmas 1991 and Christmas 1992. The Minister of Defense opened the new offices on May 4, 1992.

In 2013 the name was finally changed to Australian Signals Directorate .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Accountability | ASD Australian Signals Directorate. Accessed July 22, 2019 .
  2. ↑ http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A00928  ; accessed on February 17, 2014
  3. ↑ Prime Minister and Minister for Defense - Joint Media Release - 2013 Defense White Paper: Afghanistan. Department of Defense Ministers, May 3, 2013, accessed July 22, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Interception Capabilities 2000 ( Memento of May 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Information security (InfoSec) role ( Memento of April 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ a b History | ASD Australian Signals Directorate. Accessed July 22, 2019 .