The head of Australia’s national security service and intelligence agency said it was vital that the security service of a liberal democracy is transparent and trusted.
In his annual threat assessment speech, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO) Director-General, Mike Burgess, described his vision to push the organisation to become more transparent.
“ASIO protects Australia and Australians from threats to their security. Our ability to deliver our mission requires us to maintain the confidence and trust of our stakeholders, including the Australian people,” he said. “I believe this imposes a responsibility on ASIO to be as open as possible about what the organisation does, and why we do it.”
Burgess said he became more committed to transparency after the Defence Signals Directorate was falsely accused of an illegal act. While the allegations were later proven to be false, the damage to reputation and confidence had been done.
“The affair taught me how difficult it can be for a secret organisation to defend itself, even when it’s done nothing wrong—it’s assumed that if you’re in the shadows, you’re shadowy,” he said.
While there are things an intelligence agency cannot talk about, Burgess believes they can respond with more than “no comment.”
He recounted another incident where a journalist put forward a false claim to an unidentified intelligence agency, to which they responded with “no comment—and that’s off the record.” The story was published soon after containing the inaccuracies.
“We don’t talk about our operations, but we can reveal their outcomes,” he said. “We must be secretive about our capabilities, but we can be open about our values.”
Giving transparency and information to ASIO’s partners and stakeholders also enables greater protection for the community.
“Security is a shared responsibility. ASIO cannot stop every terrorist and catch every spy,” Burgess said.
With people spending more time online as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the levels of cybercrime and cyber-enabled espionage has increased.
Expanding on the transparency of ASIO would also help the organisation’s recruitment drive, Burgess said.
“People won’t work for an agency if they don’t know what it does and what it values; they can’t apply for jobs they don’t know exist,” he said.
Aside from traditional surveillance roles, Burgess said they recruited other positions integral to the agency’s success, such as trades professionals, business analysts, and experts in technology and law.
“We cannot identify our undeclared staff, but we can celebrate the difference they make,” he said.
