Australia has become the first country to admit that it participates in a global electronic surveillance system that intercepts private and commercial international communications. The disclosure was made by Martin Brady, the director of Australia’s Defence Signals Directorate (DSD). He confirmed that the DSD does co-operate with counterpart signals intelligence organizations overseas – that is, with the USA’s giant National Security Agency (NSA), New Zealand’s GCSB, Canada’s CSE and the UK’s GCHQ – under the UKUSA relationship.
Observers such as British investigative journalist Duncan Campbell have long maintained that since the end of World War Two, these agencies have maintained satellite tracking stations around the world. Those stations intercept every fax, telex, email, phone call or computer message sent via satellite, and many transmitted via submarine cables as well. The material thus gathered is pattern-matched against a reference called the Dictionary in order to yield economic, diplomatic and military intelligence. Brady’s admission is the first official acknowledgement of these activities by any of the nations that are said to be involved. รก
