Defence

Intelligence and Security

Everybody's business

Tim Scully

This is the first in what will be a regular column appearing in the Defence magazine. The column will promote security awareness by giving you greater visibility of security matters—good and bad—across Defence and defence industry.

All Defence people should have received an initial security briefing and most should have completed security refresher training. Albeit important, this training only gives you a glimpse into what is happening in Defence security.

In my brief tenure as Head, Defence Security Authority, I have recognised that the pressure of the operational tempo and Defence people's desire to get the job done sometimes result in good security practices being overlooked, often through a lack of knowledge, but unfortunately convenience is frequently given primacy over effective security at all levels in Defence.

Security is not an 'optional extra'; it is an essential element of your work—good security practice must become a habit. Even though your work and the information you handle might be unclassified, it is still official information and it requires protection.

There are plenty of people out there who are eager for us to make security mistakes and embarrass us. Embarrassment is painful to deal with, and can damage our reputation, but disclosure of our capabilities can cost lives. Good security is focused on protecting our capability and our people, particularly those in harm's way. After all, security is a principle of war.

Watch for this column in future issues of Defence magazine.

Secure capability, secure operations, secure Defence: It's everybody's business!

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