Australian Signals Directorate
File:Defence signals directorate logo.png
Slogan: Reveal their secrets ... Protect our own
Agency overview
Formed12 November 1947; 76 years ago (1947-11-12)
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Australia
HeadquartersCanberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
35°17′43″S 149°08′55″E / 35.2952°S 149.1487°E / -35.2952; 149.1487
Minister responsible
Parent agencyDepartment of Defence
Websiteasd.gov.au
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Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) (until 2013: Defence Signals Directorate (DSD)) is an Australian government Department of Defence intelligence collection agency responsible for signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information security (INFOSEC). DSD was established in 1947, and underwent several name changes until its current name ASD was adopted in 2013.

Overview

ASD has two principal functions: to collect and disseminate foreign signals intelligence; and to provide information security products and services to the Australian Government and ADF, its foreign partners and Militaries.[1]

Based in Canberra, at the Defence Headquarters at Russell Offices[2] it operates monitoring facilities at Kojarena, Western Australia and at Shoal Bay, Northern Territory, which are believed to be part of the ECHELON system, and is involved in Pine Gap.[3]

Australia joined the UKUSA Agreement in 1948,[4][5] a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The alliance is also known as the Five Eyes.[6] Due to its status as a secret treaty, its existence was not known to the Prime Minister of Australia until 1973,[7] and it was not disclosed to the public until 2005.[8] On 25 June 2010, for the first time, the full text of the agreement was publicly released by the United Kingdom and the United States, and can now be viewed online.[9][10] Under the agreement, ASD's intelligence is shared with the UKUSA partner agencies: the National Security Agency (NSA) – United States, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – United Kingdom, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) – Canada, and the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – New Zealand.[citation needed]

Electronic warfare operators in the Royal Australian Corps of Signals work closely with the Australian Signals Directorate. 7 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) at Borneo Barracks, Cabarlah, Queensland is associated with ASD.[citation needed]

Facilities

The ASD operates at least three receiving stations: the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS), located at Kojarena, near Geraldton, Western Australia; the Shoal Bay Receiving Station, located at Shoal Bay, Northern Territory;[11] and a small station on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.[11]

These stations contribute signals intelligence for many Australian Government bodies, as well as the wider UKUSA partners. The ASD also maintains a workforce at Pine Gap in central Australia.[3]

In addition, it has been reported that many Australian embassies and overseas missions also house small facilities which provide a flow of signals intelligence to ASD.[12]

Naming

The Directorate has operated under a number of different names since its founding:[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About DSD: DSD Defence Signals Directorate". dsd.gov.au. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 December 2011. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "History: DSD Defence Signals Directorate". dsd.gov.au. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Leslie, Tim; Corcoran, Mark (19 November 2013). "Explained: Australia's involvement with the NSA, the US spy agency at heart of global scandal". ABC. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Declassified UKUSA Signals Intelligence Agreement Documents Available" (Press release). National Security Agency. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  5. ^ Also known as the Quadripartite Agreement or Quadripartite Pact (EPIC, Privacy International (2002), Privacy and Human Rights 2002: An International Survey of Privacy Rights and Developments, Epic, 2002, p. 100, ISBN 1-893044-16-5 ((citation)): |last= has generic name (help))
  6. ^ Cox, James (December 2012). "Canada and the Five Eyes Intelligence Community" (PDF). Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.
  7. ^ Jordan Chittley; Kevin Newman. "Canada's role in secret intelligence alliance Five Eyes". CTV News. Retrieved 20 October 2013. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |lastauthoramp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Adam White (29 June 2010). "How a Secret Spy Pact Helped Win the Cold War". Time. ((cite news)): Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (25 June 2010). "Not so secret: deal at the heart of UK-US intelligence". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Newly released GCHQ files: UKUSA Agreement". The National Archives. June 2010. The files contain details of the recently avowed UKUSA Agreement – the top secret, post-war arrangement for sharing intelligence between the United States and the UK. Signed by representatives of the London Signals Intelligence Board and its American counterpart in March 1946, the UKUSA Agreement is without parallel in the Western intelligence world and formed the basis for co-operation between the two countries throughout the Cold War.
  11. ^ a b Dorling, Philip (1 November 2013). "Listening post revealed on Cocos Islands". Canberra Times.
  12. ^ Dorling, Philip (31 October 2013). "Exposed: Australia's Asia spy network". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
  13. ^ "2013 Defence White Paper: Renaming the Defence Signals Directorate and the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation" (Press release). Minister for Defence. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.

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