Australia’s Spy Agency Shifts Intel Data to Amazon Cloud

Defence Minister Richard Marles said a A$2 billion deal with Amazon Web Services will move Australia’s top secret intelligence data to the cloud and improve interoperability with the US

Rachel Noble, the Director General of the Australian Signals Directorate, stated that the national security agency would also expand its utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data as part of the transition, which would result in the construction of top-secret data centers in Australia.

“Artificial intelligence is an important game changer for all of us in the intelligence community, and we are working to embrace the use of it in an ethical, well governed and well-understood manner, where we understand very carefully when we bring AI tools into our environment how are they being used, what are they doing to the data and do we understand how carefully they need to be governed?” Noble stated this in Canberra on Thursday.

Marles stated at a press conference that the transition to cloud services operated by Amazon Web Services (AMZN.O) would provide the defense force with increased resilience by utilizing distributed, purpose-built facilities.

“If one server goes down, you can still operate,” said the administrator. “This will ensure we have a common computing operating environment with the United States defense forces in the future.”

Marles stated in an ABC TV interview that the F-35A joint strike fighter aircraft required such data due to the increasing use of “top secret” warfare.

“Every sensor that picks up information, that might feed it to a fifth-generation platform like a joint strike fighter, which it then uses to target or to defend itself against a threat, or defend another asset like a ship against a threat, all of that data … is at a top-secret level,” according to him.

The Director-General of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, informed reporters that interoperability with security partners, including the United States, was a top priority.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the partnership of the Australian Signals Directorate and Amazon Web Services would enhance national security capabilities and generate 2,000 local employees.