The head of Australia's main intelligence service revealed on Wednesday the existence of a foreign spy network active in Australia for several years, having notably recruited a former politician, academics and businessmen.
“This politician sold out his country, his party and his former colleagues to serve the interests of a foreign regime
,” said Mike Burgess, the director general of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO) in a speech. delivered Wednesday in Canberra.
Mike Burgess neither disclosed the identity of this elected official nor the name of the country on whose behalf these spies were acting.
This politician was recruited
"several years ago"
, he said, and had even proposed integrating a member of the prime minister's family into
the "orbit of spies"
, a project which was not successful. not successful.
These extremely rare public revelations in terms of counter-espionage operations immediately provoked strong reactions, with voices raised to have the identity of the politician revealed.
"The problem is that if he doesn't state his name, a cloud hangs over everyone else
," said Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative opposition, on radio 2GB in Sydney, calling on Mike Burgess to give
“no more clues”
about his identity.
Former conservative Australian Finance Minister Joe Hockey said that all parliamentarians are tainted by this affair.
“This former politician is a traitor
,” he told the national channel ABC, deeming it
“inconceivable”
that he could not
“be worried
. ”
Grilled cover
Defense Minister Richard Marles said he did not know his identity, adding that
"there could be many reasons for this
. "
This team of spies worked for the unit nicknamed A-Team, for Australia Team, indicated the director general of ASIO.
He explained that he made these revelations in order to disrupt his operations, let his bosses know that his cover was blown and warn Australians against this
“aggressive and experienced team”
.
It targets Australians with access to
“inside information”
on social media, using English-speaking
“fake personas”
and promising cash rewards.
The spies pose as consultants, headhunters, local officials, academics and think tank researchers.
“If a target takes the bait, the spies attempt to move the conversation to an encrypted messaging app.
Another step could be to propose a trip abroad to meet in person
,” the senior official said.
Australia is a member of the Group of 5 - the
"Five eyes"
- an intelligence alliance also including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, making it an attractive target for agents from countries such as China and Russia.