Army - The Soldiers' Newspaper

ADF personnel need to be aware that they are attractive targets for terrorist organisations because of their knowledge and skill base, and the position of trust they hold in the civilian community.
Photo illustration by Pte John Wellfare, Army newspaper

Be alert but not alarmed

Security Authority warns - terrorists could target soldiers

By Pte John Wellfare
TERRORISTS could target ADF members in order to gain access to restricted information and equipment, according to Army security staff.

Similar to the potential threat of criminal organisations recruiting Defence members, ADF personnel are attractive to terrorist organisations for their knowledge and skill base, as well as the position of trust they hold within the community.

OC 3 Int Coy, 1 Int Bn, Maj Graeme Hutton said Defence members should not be alarmed or overreact, but simply be aware of their environment and that they may be targeted by organisations intent on causing harm to Defence or to Australian society.

"There's no definitive information currently available that would suggest Army personnel are being specifically targeted by a terrorist organisation," he said.

"However, it's a possibility that people need to be conscious of and they should ensure that personal information and workplace information are protected accordingly.

"Defence members need to appreciate that credible terrorist organisations collect information through concerted and systematic effort, through a multitude of sources, similar in some ways to how a military intelligence organisation does business.

"They'll be seeking information from all sources of information in order to try and put all the jigsaw pieces together to make a picture.

"One piece of information in isolation doesn't provide much background, the danger is aggregation of information.

"While [a member] may have provided information on the Internet or in the newspaper, or through conversation at the pub, cafe or elsewhere, in isolation that may mean little ... collectively a picture can be developed."

Maj Hutton said there also exists a possibility that terrorists, or people with extreme beliefs could attempt to join the ADF in order to gain access to equipment and training.

"There's always a possibility and the safeguard against that is the security vetting process that is part of recruiting and the ongoing security responsibilities of every member of the ADF.

"By the sheer nature and culture of [Defence], particularly in Army, you would be hard pressed, I would think, to find an environment where co-workers don't know a lot about each others' backgrounds. In addition, everybody has an individual responsibility for security.

"People should maintain the first principal of being aware but not alarmed and ensure that they report actual, potential or suspected security issues through their chain of command."

Maj Hutton said Defence had considered a number of possible ways in which terrorists might target ADF members and subsequently guarded against them.

"Part of the whole risk management concept is to always work on the worst case scenario, and develop a sliding scale of countermeasure options," he said.

"... We have considered [the threats] and a number of policies have been adjusted.

"We actively keep an eye on all potential threats and currently there is no information to suggest that ADF members, specifically, have been identified as being under threat from terrorist organisations.

"That's not to say that circumstances may not change in time to come ... there is a possibility that Australian [military personnel] may be targeted at some point in the future."

By Pte John Wellfare
COMPROMISES in security can occur from changes in personal circumstances and workplace requirements, according to DSA staff responsible for conducting a re-evaluation of security clearances across the ADF.

The project, which will examine personnel whose security clearance is due or overdue for re-evaluation, comes under policy introduced in 2000, requiring personal security clearances to be reviewed every five years.

Director National Operations, DSA, Dave Callan said the project was intended to identify and plug security leaks that may have arisen through a member's changed circumstances.

"When we do a security clearance it's a snapshot of the individual at a moment in time and over time of course, people do other things and move on and perhaps even change.

"It's important that we regularly have a look at the people and see whether they have, in fact, changed and whether that poses a problem."

Mr Callan said intensive commitments had left a backlog of members whose security clearances had fallen due for re-evaluation.

"It's a rolling program in the sense that we're targeting the backlog of these re-evaluations and there're obviously more people coming through all the time and if their clearances fall due, we're tackling that simultaneously.

"We will also be mounting a large awareness process and that's been part of the DSA charter since we were established, so that we don't rely solely on periodic checks, that we actually make people much more aware of security in the workplace.

"If someone gets married or enters a long-term defacto relationship then that is a change of circumstance we need to have a look at.

"We don't actually do a security check on their spouse, we do a check of [the member] and how their circumstances relate to the person they married.

"Similarly, a unit security officer who becomes aware that one of their people has been contacted by anybody who might raise some suspicion, would be reporting to us the change of circumstance."