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Security issues

Terrorism will be part of the international security environment for some time to come. Espionage and interference in Australia's internal affairs will continue to be carried out by foreign governments.

The overall threat level in Australia is MEDIUM, and is unlikely to fall for some time. The threat to Australian interests in much of South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and parts of East Africa is assessed to be HIGH. Counter-terrorism and the threat from Islamic Extremism to Australia and Australian interests overseas will remain our key investigative priority.

The increasing dependency of global communities on advanced computing and communications, and the interconnectivity of networks, utilities and critical community services, is a potential new vulnerability for national governments to address. The Australian Government is involved in the protection of our critical infrastructure and ASIO is contributing to this effort.