ASIO chief exposes shocking cost of foreign spying on Australia

The Australian

2 days ago

Foreign espionage is costing the Australian economy at least $12.5bn a year, with the ASIO boss warning against complacency against the 'real, present and costly danger'.
The director-general of security Mike Burgess has for the first time publicly put a dollar figure on what foreign spies are costing Australia and espionage remains one of the country's principal security concerns.
'This is critical because I believe that we need to wake up to the cost of espionage – which is more than just financial,' he said in the annual Hawke Lecture at the University of Adelaide on Thursday night.
'We need to understand espionage is not some quaint, romantic fiction; it's a real, present and costly danger.'
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess issued his warning delivering the annual Hawke Lecture at Adelaide University. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Mr Burgess released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, to try to count the cost of espionage.
The report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5bn in the 2023-2024 financial year, an estimate Mr Burgess called 'conservative'.
'This includes the direct costs of known espionage incidents, such as the state-sponsored theft of intellectual property, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding,' he said.
'As just one example, the Institute estimates foreign cyber spies stole nearly $2bn of trade secrets and intellectual property from Australian companies and businesses in 2023-24.
'The report includes a case study where spies hacked into the computer network of a major Australian exporter, making off with commercially sensitive information.
'The theft gave the foreign country a significant advantage in subsequent contract negotiations, costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars.'
Mr Burgess said too many were complacent about the cost of espionage and urged 'all parts of our system – public and private, federal, state and local – to recognise the threat'.
'I've lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage,' he said.
'I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised.
'I've heard sensible security measures such as taking burner phones to high-risk countries described as unreasonable inconveniences.
'Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China.'
Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, was singled out by ASIO boss Mike Burgess. Picture: NewsWire / POOL / AFP / Mikhail Metzel
He again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia and said Russia remained 'a persistent and aggressive espionage threat'.
'Last year, two Russian-born Australian citizens were arrested and charged with an espionage-related offence,' Mr Burgess said.
'Separately, I can confirm in 2022 a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers were removed from this country.
'But Russia is by no means the only country we have to deal with.
'You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets.
'The obvious candidates are very active … but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them a strategic or tactical advantage, including sensitive but unclassified information.'
Mr Burgess revealed ASIO had disrupted 24 'major espionage and foreign interference' operations in the past three years alone.
'Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication,' he said.
'ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted – more aggressively – than ever before.'
While AUKUS and military technology secrets were targets, Australia's intellectual property and cutting edge research was also in the sights of foreign agents.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said spies were targeting Australia's cutting edge research and technology as well as defence secrets. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
He said an overseas delegation visiting a 'sensitive Australian horticultural facility' snapped branches off a 'rare and valuable variety of fruit tree' in order to steal them.
'Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development,' he said.
He said foreign intelligence services are 'proactive, creative and opportunistic' in their targets.
'In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices.
'Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them.'