Australian Institute of Company Directors
Director-General's Address
'Counter Terrorism and Business'
6 June 2006
PDF Version
Thank you Mr Chairman.
It is a sign of the security environment we now inhabit that the Director-General of Security should be addressing a gathering of company directors.
What it underlines is the fact that the fight against the terrorism threat in particular involves more than the efforts and resources of security, intelligence and law enforcement and other government agencies.
The threat of terrorism is against the entire Australian community and our interests both here, in Australia, and abroad.
So it is appropriate that as an organisation we engage with key elements in the business and wider community.
It is only through such engagement that we can build a better collective understanding of the threat and of our vulnerabilities and that we can identify opportunities to work together to protect ourselves.
As I have said publicly on a number of occasions, one of my priorities as Director-General of Security is to meet with business leaders to extend and enhance ASIO's relationship with relevant parts of the private sector.
Much of what I say will not be new to you.
But engagement such as this session today provides an opportunity for all of us to consider the impact of the security environment on business and the way in which it operates.
Given the substantial costs incurred by business in seeking to protect themselves, their customers and their employees, I believe it is important that we work together to ensure we are doing the right things in the right way.
From ASIO's perspective, we are working to develop partnerships with business that help decision-makers to understand and respond to security threats in a measured, efficient and effective way.
The Security Environment
Australians and Australian interests both here and abroad continue to be seen by terrorists as legitimate targets.
We have seen or heard high-profile terrorist identities - such as, Usama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Mus'abal-Zarqawi and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir - specifically name Australia as a terrorist target.
Australians have been injured or killed in terrorist attacks overseas; in London, Bali, Jakarta and New York.
And Australians have been caught up in terrorist attacks in places such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey.
The threat is not just off-shore.
A number of individuals have been convicted, or are currently facing terrorism-related charges, including:
Jack Roche who was convicted in 2004 on charges related to planning a terrorist attack against Israeli diplomatic premises here in Sydney and Canberra. He is serving a custodial sentence.
Joseph Thomas was convicted in 2006 on terrorism charges and is serving a custodial sentence.
Willy Brigitte, who was deported from Australia in October 2003 and who remains in French custody.
Australians remain at threat both within Australia and around the world with at least one aborted, disrupted or actual terrorist attack against Australia and its interests each year since 2000.
The National Threat Assessment Centre within ASIO continues to assess that a terrorist attack in Australia is feasible and could well occur.
I have previously spoken publicly about three broad scenarios that could occur. It is by no means a definitive or exhaustive list:
Firstly, terrorists could enter Australia undetected and might seek local support to carry out an attack.
ASIO's role in border security along with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs remains a major plank in the overall strategy of keeping those who would do such harm out of Australia.
Secondly, home-grown extremists could bring in specific expertise from overseas;
Thirdly, home-grown extremists could mount an attack on their own, as appears to have been the case in the London suicide bombings of July 2005.
The British experience shows just how difficult it is to identify this type of potential attacker - who for the most part will have been unexceptional members of the community.
The diversity of these threats is something being experienced overseas as well, as highlighted by the arrest last Friday of two brothers in London on suspicion of planning a chemical attack, and 17 people arrested in Toronto on Saturday, allegedly intent on committing an act of terrorism having amassed a cache of explosives and weapons.
Similarly, the range of potential terrorist targets is limited only by the imagination and creativity of the perpetrators of such attacks.
In addition to creating physical and psychological harm to the community, they can disrupt or damage economically vital or symbolic components of society.
Recent security incidents in Australia, though not necessarily terrorism related, illustrate clearly how effective a malicious act could be; causing disruption or damage at a range of levels. For example:
The Aviation sector has had a number of security scares both on aircraft and at a major Australian airport in 2005 - where a gas scare caused nearly 50 people to be hospitalised; and
Devices found recently at a Brisbane home contained the explosive material 'Powergel' sourced here in Australia.
Extortion attempts in the food sector are common. The recent contamination at George Weston of its Top Taste cakes is being investigated for motive; but well publicised incidents at Masterfoods last year and Arnotts in 1997 underline some inherent vulnerabilities.
Certainly, a lot has been done across the government and community to implement stronger and more effective protective measures.
However, these incidents remind us that even with strong measures in place, we cannot guarantee that our efforts will always be sufficient. It is for this reason that we must continuously strive to improve methods and capabilities, and ensure we maintain high vigilance.
And, while the threat of terrorism is foremost in the minds of people, we should not lose sight of the fact that there are other security threats to Australia.
In particular, we continue to face the threat of espionage and foreign interference from nation states seeking to promote their own interests to the detriment of others.
This threat is not directed just at government bodies but can also be focussed on business activities, particularly those at the leading edge of their field, not least in the defence sector.
ASIO's Role
It is against the background of the security environment I have just outlined, that the government has bolstered the resources available to agencies that have a role in countering the threat of terrorism or in putting in place sensible precautions aimed at, wherever reasonably possible, preventing attacks from occurring.
ASIO is strengthening its capabilities across a range of functions while continuing to operate in a complex, fast-paced and demanding operational environment
As with any business operation we must continually manage risks and juggle competing priorities.
Additional resources committed to ASIO will boost our ability to meet our responsibilities in protecting Australians from threats to our security.
However, and not dissimilar to the risk-management decisions which would confront many in the audience today, the consequences of ASIO's decision making are significant.
The task is not made any easier by having to operate with incomplete information.
That said, as leaders and managers of corporations or organisations with responsibility for the safety and well-being of staff and customers - as well as generally to the wider community - we should not be intimidated by the situation but factor it into our decision making.
ASIO's Partnership with Business
Which brings me to how ASIO is seeking to assist business by providing advice that will allow business managers to plan and prepare in ways that are reasonable and appropriate in the current and enduring security environment.
We need to have a common and generally accepted understanding and characterisation of the threat to ensure our individual, corporate and community response is measured and appropriate but determined.
Within ASIO there are two work units - the Critical Infrastructure Protection Team and the Business Liaison Unit - that are focussed directly on working with the business sector.
The work of the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) team involves preparing assessments of the threat from terrorism to specific industry sectors.
These threat assessments inform the cooperative work of Federal and State government departments, law enforcement agencies and industry participants in their risk planning and mitigation activity.
In formulating industry threat assessments, the CIP team works closely with the relevant private sector organisations to gain a detailed understanding of their specific situation and business processes.
Such engagement is an indispensable part of the threat analysis process and contributes to more comprehensive and useful threat assessment advice, tailored to the specific needs of each sector.
Producing these industry threat assessments is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process - generally around 12 months from commissioning to release.
This timeframe has meant that, until now, industry has received only periodic briefings from ASIO about the threat situation relevant to their sector.
Further, these briefings were not always provided directly to a wide circle of company representatives.
The more ongoing and direct information dissemination role has been undertaken by law enforcement agencies and relevant government departments as part of a wider 'all-hazards' focus that includes policy and response mechanisms, aspects that are outside ASIO's sphere of responsibility.
While these arrangements have worked well, business leaders indicated a preference to deal directly with the Australian Intelligence Community on the terrorist threat and sought to have information provided on a more regular basis.
Against this background, the Business Liaison Unit was established by ASIO in late 2005 to provide a direct interface between business and the Australian Intelligence Community.
ASIO sees the development of the Business Liaison Unit as an ongoing and timely opportunity to enhance the relationship we have with business in a mutually beneficial way.
While business will likely benefit from the closer ties and more regular information, ASIO will no doubt enhance its ability to gather, analyse and share intelligence originating in the private sector.
The specific outputs that company security personnel can expect from the Business Liaison Unit will include:
Sector-specific Business Security Reports updated regularly, based on information sourced in Australia and abroad;
Other security related information that is both issue-specific - for example, identifying suspicious behaviour, or recent changes to the security environment - and event-specific, perhaps focusing on upcoming forums, such as APEC 2007;
In the near future, the BLU will launch a secure website containing information for the exclusive use of security personnel in the private sector and other trusted partners;
And lastly, the BLU is there to provide a point-of-contact for business representatives to ask questions and access other services offered by the Australian Intelligence Community.
Such services might include advice on protective security, information security and briefings and presentations to help build awareness throughout the business community on national security matters.
Final Thoughts
In concluding this address I would like to re-emphasise the following:
Although activity by intelligence, law enforcement and other agencies has disrupted some terrorist planning, there is no indication that the threat is abating;
The challenge for governments and the community at large, including the business sector, is to ensure our understanding of the threat remains current, realistic and appropriate and that we shape our response to the threat in ways that are in proportion to the actual risks.
Business will see more of ASIO - particularly through the Business Liaison Unit, but underpinned by the continued efforts of the intelligence community as a whole.
Thank you for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts with you all today.