Australia develops ‘top secret’ intelligence cloud computing system

Australia is developing a “top secret” intelligence community cloud to help national security agencies better detect threats through shared data, while being interoperable with US and UK spy networks .

The director general of the Office of National Intelligence (ONI), Andrew Shearer, revealed some details of the project that would facilitate the exchange of “large amounts of data”, during a speech before the Center for Strategic and International Studies of the United States. State.

“In Australia we are working very hard on a ‘top secret’ cloud initiative, and we hope to be in a position to take that initiative forward,” Shearer told a CSIS audience in Washington DC this week.

“What this will obviously do is transform the way we do our work as agencies, but it will also open up a shared collaborative space that will really reinforce this sense of working together as a genuine community and bringing all those different capabilities together to solve problems.”

Shearer said the “experiences” of the United States and the United Kingdom in building their respective intelligence clouds have also shaped Australia’s program, helping to address “issues” and avoid “some of the pitfalls.”

Andrew Shearer says the cloud system will highlight what Australia can learn from its strategic partners.(National Intelligence Office)

“I think it’s a really powerful demonstration of how we can learn from each other… As we delve into the world of artificial intelligence, there is also a lot we can learn and share,” he added.

“The ability to share large amounts of data and work together on it will be a huge change for us as a community, but it will also make us interoperable with the US IC (intelligence community) and also with our British colleagues who are moving forward in that direction too.”

Precise details of the cloud, including its expected cost and operational launch date, are unknown, but ONI has confirmed that it began the project before the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is formed in September 2021.

“ONI led an open Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) process in 2021 to determine potential partners for a TS Cloud to ensure improved connectivity and collaboration across the National Intelligence Community (NIC),” a spokesperson told ABC News.

The spokesperson declined to name which companies were involved or how the new cloud would handle material classified as “Australian Eyes Only”, saying “for national security reasons we are not providing further details on capabilities or technologies”.

A tender document published in late 2020 states that “ONI intends to identify potential business partners with the capabilities, qualities, interest and commitment to partner with the NIC to provide community-based, scalable, private and top-secret cloud services with good value for money.”

During his speech to CSIS, Shearer confirmed that a new Australian National Intelligence Community strategy would include a “set of principles” that will make the sharing of new technologies between various agencies mandatory.