Mike Burgess | |
---|---|
14th Director-General of Security | |
Assumed office 16 September 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Scott Morrison Anthony Albanese |
Preceded by | Duncan Lewis |
Personal details | |
Born | England,United Kingdom |
Profession | Intelligence officer |
Michael Paul Burgess AM is an Australian intelligence official,and the current Director-General of Security in charge of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Prior to his appointment to this role on 16 September 2019,Burgess was director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
Burgess was born in England,and immigrated to Adelaide,South Australia in 1973 at the age of seven. He was the first member of his family to study in higher education,receiving a degree in electrical engineering from the South Australian Institute of Technology in 1988. [1]
Burgess joined ASD (then called the Defence Signals Directorate) in 1995,and worked there for 18 years,most notably as Deputy Director for Cyber and Information Security,before leaving to work in the private sector. Working in the private sector,Burgess served as the Chief Information Security Officer at Telstra,before finding work as a cyber-security consultant and advisor. [2] He also served on the Federal Government’s Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board. [2] In December 2017,he returned to ASD as Director-General. [3] In August 2019,prime minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton announced Burgess had been appointed to replace the retiring Duncan Lewis as the head of ASIO. [4]
In February 2022,Burgess announced that ASIO had foiled a plot by foreign interference that involved an attempt by a foreign government to install political candidates in the lead-up to the coming national election in Australia. [5]
In February 2024,Burgess stated that an unnamed Australian politician has sold out Australia. The politician has been passing some information to foreign countries. [6]
In the 2024 King's Birthday Honours,he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "For significant service to public administration,particularly national security and intelligence". [7]
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is the domestic intelligence and national security agency of the Commonwealth of Australia,responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage,sabotage,acts of foreign interference,politically motivated violence,terrorism and attacks on the national defence system. ASIO is a primary entity of the Australian Intelligence Community.
The Australian Secret Intelligence Service is the foreign intelligence agency of the Commonwealth of Australia,responsible for gathering,processing,and analysing national security information from around the world,primarily through the use of human intelligence. The service was formed in 1952,however its existence remained secret within much of the government and to the public until 1972. ASIS is a primary entity of the Australian Intelligence Community.
The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD),formerly the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD),is the federal statutory agency in the Australian Government responsible for foreign signals intelligence,support to military operations,cyber warfare,and information security. ASD is part of the Australian Intelligence Community. ASD's role within UKUSA Agreement is to monitor signals intelligence ("SIGINT") in South and East Asia. The ASD also houses the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) is the public-service department of New Zealand charged with promoting New Zealand's national security by collecting and analysing information of an intelligence nature. The GCSB is considered to be New Zealand's most powerful intelligence agency,and has been alleged to have conducted more espionage and data collection than the country's primary intelligence agency,the less funded NZSIS. This has at times proven controversial,although the GCSB does not have the baggage of criticism attached to it for a perceived failure to be effective like the NZSIS does. The GCSB is considered an equivalent of GCHQ in the United Kingdom or the NSA in the United States.
The United Kingdom –United States of America Agreement is a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between Australia,Canada,New Zealand,the United Kingdom,and the United States. The alliance of intelligence operations is also known as the Five Eyes. In classification markings this is abbreviated as FVEY,with the individual countries being abbreviated as AUS,CAN,NZL,GBR,and USA,respectively.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) is a joint committee of the Parliament of Australia which oversees Australia's primary agencies of the Australian Intelligence Community:Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO),the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS),the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD),the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO),the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (DIGO),and the Office of National Assessments (ONA).
The Australian Intelligence Community (AIC) and the National Intelligence Community (NIC) or National Security Community of the Australian Government are the collectives of statutory intelligence agencies,policy departments,and other government agencies concerned with protecting and advancing the national security and national interests of the Commonwealth of Australia. The intelligence and security agencies of the Australian Government have evolved since the Second World War and the Cold War and saw transformation and expansion during the Global War on Terrorism with military deployments in Afghanistan,Iraq and against ISIS in Syria. Key international and national security issues for the Australian Intelligence Community include terrorism and violent extremism,cybersecurity,transnational crime,the rise of China,and Pacific regional security.
The National Security Council (NSC) of India is an executive government agency tasked with advising the Prime Minister's Office on matters of national security and strategic interest. It was established by the former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 19 November 1998,with Brajesh Mishra as the first National Security Advisor.
The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an anglosphere intelligence alliance comprising Australia,Canada,New Zealand,the United Kingdom,and the United States. These countries are party to the multilateral UK-USA Agreement,a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence. Informally,"Five Eyes" can refer to the group of intelligence agencies of these countries. The term "Five Eyes" originated as shorthand for a "AUS/CAN/NZ/UK/US EYES ONLY" (AUSCANNZUKUS) releasability caveat.
The director-general of security is the executive officer of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO),Australia's national security agency. The director-general,through ASIO,has overall responsibility for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage,sabotage,politically motivated violence,attacks on the Australian defence system,terrorism and acts of foreign interference.
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Major General Duncan Edward Lewis is an Australian military officer,diplomat and intelligence chief. From 2014 to 2019,he was the Director-General of Security of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Prior to that appointment,he held the post of Australian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium,the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He is a retired Australian Army officer,and formerly Special Operations Commander Australia (2002–2004),National Security Adviser,and Secretary of the Department of Defence.
Cyberwarfare by China is the aggregate of all combative activities in the cyberspace which are taken by organs of the People's Republic of China,including affiliated advanced persistent threat (APT) groups,against other countries.
Robert Peter Hannigan CMG is a cybersecurity specialist who has been Warden of Wadham College,Oxford,since 2021. He was a senior British civil servant who previously served as the director of the signals intelligence and cryptography agency the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and established the UK's National Cyber Security Centre. His sudden resignation as director was announced on 23 January 2017,and he stepped down at the end of April 2017 to pursue a career in private sector cyber security,academia and as a security commentator. In 2021 he became Warden of Wadham College,Oxford.
John Charles Blaxland is an Australian historian,academic,and former Australian Army officer. He is a Professor in Intelligence Studies and International Security at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University.
The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security,protective services,emergency management,border control,immigration,refugees,citizenship,transport security and multicultural affairs. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs,currently held by Tony Burke,and was led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs,Mike Pezzullo,until his sacking in November 2023 for breaching the code of conduct.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC),the successor to the Cyber Security Operations Centre,is the Australian Government's lead agency for cyber security. The ACSC is part of the Australian Signals Directorate and is based at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation headquarters in Brindabella Business Park in Canberra. The Centre is overseen by the Cyber Security Operations Board and is the joint responsibility of the Minister for Defence.
Rachel Noble is the Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate. She was appointed to the position in February 2020 and is the first woman to hold the position.
The Australian Intelligence Medal (AIM) is a civil decoration awarded to national intelligence community members for distinguished service. The decoration was introduced on 24 January 2020. Recipients of the Australian Intelligence Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters "AIM".