The Australian government has revealed plans to create a highly secure cloud service for its intelligence agencies in a $2 billion partnership with US tech company Amazon.
This advanced platform, due to be completed by the end of the decade, is designed to enhance information sharing capabilities within Australia’s security sector.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles recently unveiled the major investment, highlighting its potential to create nearly 2,000 jobs, The Guardian reported. Marles said the project would ensure Australia “keeps up to date with the most advanced defence forces in the world”, while enhancing interagency interoperability. “It will ensure we have a more flexible, capable, lethal, robust and effective defence force in the future,” he added.
The project involves the creation of three data centres in Australia, designed to house the country’s most sensitive intelligence. For security reasons, the exact locations of these facilities will not be disclosed.
Rachel Noble, director general of the Australian Signals Directorate, explained the benefits of working with a private sector partner. Noble said the agreement would give intelligence agencies access to “the best staff the private sector has to offer in terms of technological capabilities, services and tools”. AI could have a significant impact on operational theory, with Noble highlighting its “game-changing” impact when applied to data collection and analysis.
In response to security concerns, Noble stressed that effective safeguards would be put in place to prevent large-scale data leaks, a priority in the post-WikiLeaks era. “Access to highly classified data is managed very carefully at the individual level, and we have very strong controls on what individuals can see within this highly classified environment,” she said. Such controls also include monitoring what information employees can access and print, and ensuring that it is consistent with their organizational roles.
It is worth noting that all employees involved in the construction and operation of this project will be required to meet strict Australian security clearance standards.
Marlis stressed the need for this technological advancement in dealing with the complex strategic circumstances facing the nation. He explained that “modern defense forces, and modern conflicts, rely more on information technology and computing infrastructure than ever before. This in turn means that modern conflicts are conducted at a highly classified level.”
While the specific types of data that will be uploaded to the cloud have not yet been determined, Noble stressed that control of the top-secret data centres built in Australia “will remain exclusively within the Commonwealth’s purview.”
Amazon declined to say what other similar technologies the company makes available to other countries or whether such intelligence infrastructure is available or accessible to hostile states.
As Australia’s intelligence capabilities have made significant advances, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has revealed plans to sell nearly $5 billion worth of Amazon shares. The move, disclosed in a recent regulatory filing, comes as Amazon hit an all-time high of $200.43 just before the close, extending its gains of more than 30% for the year — outperforming most major market indices.
As Australia embarks on this project, it represents a major investment in securing the country for good and keeping pace with the world’s future leaders in defence and intelligence. It amounts to a radical overhaul of how Australia’s intelligence system is prepared for this new era, reshaping the environment in which information sharing and analysis can take place across the national security community.
(Photo by Amber Weir)
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