The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is warning Australia’s defence industry that foreign intelligence services are aggressively targeting the sector and that industry should harden its defences against espionage.
Mike Burgess, ASIO’s Director-General of Security, has specifically identified Australia’s maritime and aviation-related military capabilities as areas that foreign spies are focusing on, along with innovations in other areas that have both commercial and military applications.
“Australia’s defence sector is a top intelligence collection priority for foreign governments seeking to blunt our operational edge, gain insights into our operational readiness and tactics, and better understand our allies’ capabilities,” he said.
ASIO released a report in July 2025 called “The cost of espionage,” which estimated the actual costs from espionage on the Australian economy to be $12.5 billion in 2023-2024. This included the direct costs of known or suspected espionage activities, including cyber espionage, intellectual property theft, and insider threats, along with the mitigation and response costs associated with those activities.
The research was conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) which assessed information from specialists in ASIO and the Australian Signals Directorate as well as representatives from other government departments, universities and businesses. While acknowledging the constraints in assessing mitigation and response costs along with the assumptions that were made, the AIC also noted that many costs could not be estimated due to a lack of sufficient data. Based on this, ASIO has noted that the reported cost is likely to substantially underestimate the true cost of espionage.
ASIO has previously reported espionage cases which include hacking a company’s network to steal commercially sensitive information for commercial advantage, theft of plant material to replicate two decades of research and development, and use of a USB device to infect a company laptop leading to theft of blueprints for a world-leading innovation that was quickly replicated. During his presentation at the 26th annual Hawke Lecture, Burgess noted that the introduction of AUKUS has increased foreign intelligence activities, which is not surprising given the secret information Australia will be managing.
With espionage activities increasing, Burgess is urging organisations to uplift their security measures and has identified security culture as a key aspect. He notes that fostering a good security culture includes understanding the threat, identifying the risk, and managing the risk. ASIO is reminding government workers and security clearance holders that they have an obligation to report suspicious approaches and activities to their security manager and via a contact report.
For those without security clearances, ASIO also supports reporting through their Notifiable Incidents, Threats or Reportable Observations (NITRO) portal at nitro.asio.gov.au or by calling the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400. They have also made the AIC’s research report available at www.asio.gov.au/coe.