Home       Previous newsletters

30 August 2005

1 Brief news from around Australia

1. The COAG summit on counter-terrorism is scheduled for 29 September.
2. Duncan Lewis has been appointed the Deputy Secretary within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and responsible for 4 Divisions including National Security and APEC 2007. He will chair the National Counter-Terrorism Committee. Before this promotion, he was the First Assistant Secretary, National Security Division in the Department, and before that the SAS commander. The only public speech by Mr Lewis is on the DVD of the Safeguarding Australia conference. For information on it, click here.
3. Mark Burgess, Chief Executive of the Police Federation of Australia, was invited by the Police Federation of England and Wales and the British Transport Police Federation to go to London to learn the lessons of the bombings.
4. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has recently had discussions with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and relevant agencies, before witnessing counter-terrorism technology research activity in New York City. Ruddock says his meetings were designed to ensure that "not only are we aware of what is being done at a local level in terms of preparedness, but also for intelligence purposes - looking at the way in which local police use their range of contacts and associations to help ensure that any particular planning that might be under way is dealt with."
5. Visitors to the Sydney Opera House will face heightened security measures starting next month to prevent acts of terrorism. From Sept. 1, visitors will be required to remove coats, jackets, gloves, shoes, hats and any other headgear for scrutiny if asked by security staff. Electronic scans and car searches will also be implemented.
6. David P. Kutchinski has been appointed the District Manager for Austrade, Colorado Springs, Colorado U.S.A. He is working for Dan Sullivan out of the "Sales to Government" team of Austrade. He has a significant interest in homeland security and defence areas as his professional life has included being an officer in the U.S. Army with a specialty of Military Intelligence and Special Forces, being an FBI Agent and on a SWAT Team. His most recent prior engagement was for 14 months in Iraq as the Security Director for a major Engineering company.
7. Latest report on the INTERFET force intelligence denial saga. The Australian Government has released the abridged version (unclassified) of a report on the loss of access to a particular database for ADF intelligence officers attached to the INTERFET force in East Timor on 20-21 December 1999. The report was prepared by Ian Carnell, Inspector General of Intelligence and Security. Mr Carnell found that the removal of access to the relevant Dili based users was deliberate. This is contrary to the finding of Mr Blick, Mr Carnell's predecessor, in an earlier investigation. The report is available from http://www.defence.gov.au/publications.cfm
8. The program has been released for the Annual Conference of the Australian Chapter of the International Association of Bomb Technicians & Investigators (IABTI) in Sydney on the 4th and 5th of October 2005. It is an invitation only conference and information is available from Don Williams at consulting@xtek.net.
9. The businessman, Mark Johnson, has been appointed the new chair of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. He is one of the founders of successful global banking company Macquarie Bank as well as Chairman of the Australian Gaslight Company (AGL). Mr Johnson has had a career in banking and senior levels of business in Australia, serving as one of the Prime Minister's three business representative on the Business Advisory Council for APEC. According to the Government, the appointment of Mr Johnson reflects "the Government desire to meet that charter and extend the geographical influence of ASPI. With business and the economy critical components of the strategic debate, it is also intended to further encourage a wider business participation."
10. The Statement of Principles promulgated by the Prime Minister at the meeting with Islamic Community leaders on 23 August is available at http://www.pm.gov.au/news/media_releases/media_Release1524.html
11. A new discussion paper from the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre (AHSRC) discussing challenges for the forthcoming September COAG summit on counter-terrorism says the most important element in further enhancing national security is successful engagement of the community. Such engagement, it adds, "should not solely be directed at the Muslim community, but include elements of the entire Australian community including individuals, religious groups, businesses, interest groups, industry and professional associations and academia." The August 2005 National Security Practice Note is available from http://www.homelandsecurity.org.au/publications.html
12. Mike Rothery, head of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Branch in the Attorney-General's Department and Athol Yates, editor of this newsletter, will be addressing the ASIAL's Security 2005 conference in the afternoon of 31 August. Information at http://www.asial.com.au/

2 Security incorporated into the ratings of the State's infrastructure

Engineers Australia has recently released report cards on the quality of infrastructure in Victoria, SA, NT and Tasmania. The ratings (A to F) were based on five factors including security and asset condition.

Below is an extract of the rating explanation from the Victorian Report Card which relates to security.

After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001(USA), October 2002 (Bali) and March 2004 (Madrid), governments have responded by enacting legislation and establishing specific agencies to assess and manage this new risk to infrastructure. While security management is highly confidential, some infrastructure is more vulnerable to attack, and more critical to social and economic welfare than others. This assessment has measured the issues associated with the security of the asset and considers the following issues:

1. All-hazards approach: Infrastructure faces a series of hazards which can all be a source of potential harm. These include natural hazards such as cyclones, floods and earthquakes, and man-made hazards such as vandalism, arson and terrorism. While every hazard is different and requires specific counter-measures, they should all be treated under a single set of management arrangements so that resources are allocated on a comparative hazard basis that reflects the risk, probability and consequences of each hazard. This is called an all-hazards approach.
2. Risk management: Risk management is the systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating and monitoring risk. It provides a standardised way to address all hazards and determine risk mitigation treatment based on a comparative analysis.
3. Comprehensive approach: A security strategy must address all aspects of security including physical and cyber security as well as security policy, practices and procedures. It must also address the four elements of security consisting of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.
4. Internal and external integration: Security strategies will be effective if they are integrated into all other activities of an infrastructure organisation, and integrated with the activities of external stakeholders. Internally, the development of a security culture that permeates throughout the organisation is required. Externally, a partnership with government, industry and the community so that all partners can mutually support the others is needed.
5. Security best practice: Best practice in security is rapidly evolving as security experiences increase and practices adapt to new threats. Due to the speed of these changes, documented best practice embodied in codes and standards invariably lags behind practitioners' best practice. This means that infrastructure organisations need to do more than simply implement relevant security codes and standards. Instead they need to continually improve their security by identifying and implementing relevant world best practice.

The report cards are available from www.infrastructurereportcard.org.au

3 Security Grant for the Australian Local Government Association
The Australian Government has approved a grant of $473,000 for the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) to undertake a range of activities designed to provide city and shire councils with assistance in preparing their communities to cope with a range of hazards, including the threat of terrorism.

The funding will enable the ALGA to conduct a stocktake of current activities to identify best practice in disaster mitigation and land use planning, protection of critical infrastructure, involvement in response and recovery, and emergency consequence management associated with community facilities. The project also seeks to develop a national counter-terrorism risk management toolkit to assist local government to undertake assessments with respect to these potential security-related issues.

The project is being funded under the Government's Working Together to Manage Emergencies initiative managed by Emergency Management Australia. 0508221

4 Security funding for regional airports
The Australian Government has announced that nearly $1.5 million from the Regional Airport Funding Program is being used to upgrade basic security measures at 12 regional airports around Australia. These security upgrades are designed to increase confidence in regional airports and will provide a boost for both local communities and their wider regions.

Since 10 March 2005, 146 regional airports have been designated as security-controlled airports and have a transport security program approved by the Australian Government. Basic security upgrade measures will be undertaken at:

• Maryborough Airport, Qld - $91,779 for Stage 1;
• Griffith Airport, NSW - $28,281 for Stage 2;
• Geraldton Airport - $215,727 for Stage 2;
• Coonamble Airport, NSW - $76,562.70;
• Charleville Airport, Qld - $360,811;
• Carnarvon Airport, WA - $81,070;
• Orange Airport, NSW - $337,461.47 for Stage 1;
• Ramingining Airport, NT - $32,965 for Stage 1;
• Dubbo Airport, NSW - $15,560 for Stage 1;
• Katherine Airport, NT - $88,513;
• Julia Creek Airport, Qld - $88,064; and
• Lockhart River Airport, Qld - $40,253.

5 Unmanned vehicles become more important for defence
Australia's future military operations will be supported by forces of robots and unmanned vehicles which will be highly integrated and controlled by defence personnel from a distance, the Defence Minister Robert Hill said as he opened of the Amazing World of Science event in Canberra in August.

Senator Hill said the Government was investing more and more on research and development of unmanned vehicle technology for use in future operations and for surveillance purposes. "These new, intelligent and largely autonomous systems will in the future be able to carry out hazardous tasks traditionally reserved for warfighters which will reduce exposure and risks to Australian Defence Force personnel," he said.

Research into such autonomous vehicles is being undertaken by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) under its Automation of the Battlespace Initiative (ABSI) working with companies such as Aerosonde, Saab, Nautronix and Tenix.

DSTO is exploring the concept of expendable autonomous vehicles which will be inexpensive to manufacture and easy to repair. DSTO has also established a Centre of Expertise in Autonomous & Uninhabited Vehicle Systems at the University of Sydney to conduct research for defence specific applications. The autonomous vehicles currently being investigated by DSTO include:

• An Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) - capable of autonomous navigation through difficult terrain, it can carry supplies for soldiers and conduct reconnaissance missions.
• A remote controlled Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) built by Australian company Aerosonde - capable of electronic warfare, radar jamming, data and voice radio relay, intelligence and surveillance.
• An Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), known as Wayamba - capable of autonomous navigation, underwater surveillance, mine and other obstacle detection, hydrographic survey and communications with the surface without surfacing. 0508171

6 Global Security Week - 5 to 11 September 2005
The first ever Global Security Week (GWS) will be held from 5 to 11 September. It aims to link together security awareness activities across the world in the week leading up to September 11th each year.

Global Security Week 2005 is the first ever global security awareness event. Since launching the initiative and the website www.GlobalSecurityWeek.com in June 2005, a small band of volunteers has been working to explain and promote the event to numerous public and private bodies with an interest in security.

Whilst Global Security Week this year may be relatively modest in scale, worldwide participation is expected to increase markedly in 2006. The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), for example, is planning to announce an International Infosec Day in New York during or shortly after Global Security Week 2005 with the event itself to be launched a year later.

By chance, a few established security awareness events such as U.S. National Security Awareness Day on September 9th (www.ussecurityawareness.org) already coincide with Global Security Week. Organisers of other security awareness events are encouraged either to reschedule their main events to fall within Global Security Week from 2006 or to organise something extra during the week, and thus to share in the publicity the event will inevitably attract.

Below is a summary of Australian activities as listed on www.GlobalSecurityWeek.com

• Information Security World Australia runs in Sydney from September 5th to 8th 2005, during GSW
• The Australian Chapter of the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has been contacted about GSW
• Secure Media & Promotions are notifying clients and contacts in the region about GSW.
• AusCERT has been contacted about GSW
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) has been contacted about GSW
• Safecoms is promoting GSW in Australia and UK

7 Second meeting of the Business-Government Advisory Group on National Security
The second meeting of the Business-Government Advisory Group was held recently to reinforce the effective lines of communication that exist between business and government leaders on security issues, particularly in relation to the protection of critical infrastructure.

The meeting addressed a range of issues that go to protecting our economy and ensuring our national security and included the protection of mass gatherings of people, transport security, identity security and protection of the national information infrastructure.

According to the Attorney-General, "This forum demonstrates government and business are working as one to keep our economy safe and to protect Australians from terrorism".

Business representatives include David Baffsky (Accor Asia Pacific), Greg Martin (Australian Gas Light), Steven Lowy (Westfield Trust), Geoff Dixon (Qantas Airlines), Hugh Morgan (Business Council of Australia), Heather Ridout (Australian Industry Group), John Stewart (National Australia Bank) and Peter Hendy (ACCI). 0508111

According to one newspaper report, "the meeting concluded that it was impossible to ensure the safety of mass gatherings "at all times and in all situations" without major disruption to daily life, but agreed to draw up national guidelines on improving security for owners and operators of venues for mass gatherings. The meeting also resolved to examine suspicious financial transactions and to tighten further all transport security settings."

8 New way of finding jobs for counter-terrorism, security, risk and intelligence professionals
A new positions vacant service has started which will provide information on current jobs in counter-terrorism, security, risk and intelligence sectors. Called Security Jobs Central, the service provides a free weekly e-newsletter listing vacancies.

The primary aim of Security Jobs Central is to provide a central and comprehensive list of positions vacant to improve an individual's chance of finding a suitable position while offering employers a quick and cost effective way of obtaining quality candidates. Surf www.securityjobscentral.com.au to register for the free weekly e-newsletter listing of job vacancies.

9 US Research & Development Plan for Critical Infrastructure Protection
The US has publicly released the national critical infrastructure protection research and development plan to address the sustained science, engineering, and technology base needed to prevent or minimise the impact of future attacks on our physical and cyber infrastructure systems. The National Critical Infrastructure Protection Research and Development Plan was developed through an intensive, collaborative, interagency effort.

Rather than examining critical infrastructure by sector, as has traditionally been done, the National Plan for Research and Development in Support of Critical Infrastructure Protection establishes nine themes that aim to support all sectors, encompass physical security and cybersecurity concerns, and be integrated with other national security strategies.

The plan is organised around the themes of:

• Detection and sensor systems
• Protection and prevention
• Entry and access portals
• Insider threats
• Analysis and decision support systems
• Response, recovery and reconstitution
• Emerging threats
• Advanced architectures and system design, and
• Human and social issues.

The plan is available from http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home5.jsp

10 Upcoming COAG Meeting on Counter-Terrorism
The Prime Minister John Howard has written to Premiers and Chief Ministers of the States and Territories proposing a special meeting of the Council of Australian Governments to consider counter-terrorism issues. Issues on the agenda include:

• counter terrorism legal frameworks;
• surface transport security;
• identity security;
• more effective prevention of any advocacy of terrorism, including through the engagement of community and religious leaders, and;
• enhancing community understanding of an engagement in the national counter-terrorism arrangements.

The meeting will take place in 29 September, to allow adequate time for the States to assemble ideas.

"It's meant to be a working session, I want serious proposals, I want an acceptance by Governments at a State level that they have responsibilities, including financial ones, we accept our responsibilities. I want to go into the meeting in a cooperative spirit. I don't want the meeting to be overlaid with state/federal politics. It will only be about terrorism, it will not be about other issues and I seriously invite my state colleagues to work closely with the Federal Government," said the Prime Minister.

Funding will be an issue at the meeting. The NSW Premier Morris Iemma has stated that he would like more money from the Federal Government to help make the state secure from terrorism. His argument is that that Federal Government must commit to the protection of national security interests inside NSW. NSW has invested $330 million over the last couple of years on security measures.

11 Opportunity in the US
Recently, two Governors of the US States that bordered Mexico declared a "state of emergency" because of their porous borders. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security has also recognised the border security issue as a priority. It is a priority for both the southern border and the Canadian Border. While hiring 5,000 more Border Patrol Officers has been discussed as a solution, the more likely solution will be technological. A combination of enforcement officers plus smart surveillance technology will probably be adopted.

Due to the remoteness of much of the border, technologies like photovoltaic and satellite transmission of data may also be required. For information, contact Katharine.Heather@austrade.gov.au.

12 IEEE International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology
Coming up is the IEEE International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology (ICCST). It will run from 11-14 October 2005 in Spain. It is an annual conference directed toward the research and development aspects of electronic security technology, including the operational testing of the technology. Two Australians are on the ICCST Executive Committee. They are Nigel Grist and Clifton Smith. Information http://www.carnahanconference.com/

13 Security and Risk Management Consultants Merge
Amlec House Pty. Ltd., a security and risk management consultancy has merged with Secure Media & Promotions, a provider of security e-learning and awareness packages. Chris Cubbage has joined founder David Gries as Director and Associate Professor Clifton Smith and David Brooks as Non-Executive Directors. All have a specialist expertise in security planning and design, risk and threat assessments, corporate investigations and security technology applications.

Amlec House has formed partnerships with interstate specialist firms to provide West Australian organisations with access to high-quality Australian-made security awareness and workplace violence training programs, incident and offender tracking systems, and security awareness products which were previously only provided to organisations in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The company is seeing strong interest from organisations wanting to implement personnel screening and online security induction training to support information and computer security systems. 0508282

14 Call for papers for Information Systems Security Education
A call for papers has been released for the 1st Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education - Asia Pacific (CISSE-AP). The conference will be held 21-22 November 2005 in Adelaide. This colloquium, the first to be held in Australia, building on the ongoing annual series held in the USA, will bring together leading figures from academia, government, and industry to address the national need for security and assurance of our information and communications infrastructure.

Deadline for paper submission is September 30th 2005 and information about the call can be obtained from Jill.Slay@unisa.edu.au. Conference information is at www.cisse-ap.org.au.

15 New Publications

1. "The Counter-Terrorism Puzzle: A Guide for Decision Makers", March 2005. Written by Dr. Boaz Ganor, Executive Director of The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Israel. Dr. Ganor served as an advisor on counter-terrorism to many Israeli Governments, and has worked in the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bureau at the Prime Minister's office. He specialises in dealing with the conflicts between Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights issues. He also lectures on Terrorism and Democracy at the Lauder School of Government and Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
   The Washington Times review stated that; 'The book's greatest strength is its systematic approach to dealing with ways we know that terrorists have acted and will act in the future. The book's analysis thus provides an important guide not only to decision makers but also to all those who are involved in trying to understand how to formulate effective counterterrorism policies and programs.' $82 or for delegates at the 2005 Safeguarding Australia Summit a special a 15% discount-- $69.70.
2. "Regional Security in Southeast Asia: Beyond the ASEAN Way" by Mely Caballero-Anthony. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. $61.95 "The book examines ASEAN's mechanisms in managing challenges & threats to regional security. Its extensive analysis of the ASEAN story of managing regional security covers the different phases of ASEAN's development as a regional organisation and explores the perceptible changes that have occurred in regional mechanisms of conflict management."
3. "Jihad in Paradise: Islam & Politics in Southeast Asia" by Mike Millard. M.E.Sharpe. $35.95 "Mike Millard, a journalist based in Singapore, draws on personal interviews with experts in the field, in addition to key political & religious figures, to explore Southeast Asia's struggle with Islamic extremists & terrorism at the hands of al Qaeda's Southeast Asian arm of Jemaah Islamiyah. Although there is a particular focus on Singapore, the story extends beyond Singapore into Malaysai, Indonesia & the Philippines."
4. "Terrorism in the Philippines" Barreveld. Writers Press Club. $43.95.

All books are available from: University Co-op Bookshop Australian Defence Force Academy Campbell ACT 2600 Tel: 02-62573467 Fax: 02-62471556 e-mail: adfa@coop-bookshop.com.au www.coop-bookshop.com.au

16 DVD of day 1 and 2 of the Safeguarding Australia Summit
A 2-set DVD is now available of the Safeguarding Australia Summit (12-13 July 2005). The DVDs contain all the plenary addresses of the conference including the addresses by

• Dr Boaz Ganor, Executive Director, The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, Herzlia, Israel Professor
• Rohan Gunaratna, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Singapore
• Duncan Lewis, First Assistant Secretary, National Security Division, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

Cost: $42, order form from http://www.safeguardingaustraliaconference.org.au/publications.html