Australian Signals Directorate
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Overview
According to its website,[1] ASD has two principal functions:
- to collect and disseminate foreign signals intelligence;
- to provide information security products and services to the Australian Government and its Defence Force.
Based in Canberra, at the Defence Headquarters at Russell Offices[2] it operates monitoring facilities at Kojarena, Western Australia and at Shoal Bay, Northern Territory, which are believed to be part of the ECHELON system. It may also play a role in Pine Gap.
Under the 1948 UKUSA agreement, ASD's intelligence is shared with its foreign partner agencies:
- National Security Agency (NSA) – United States
- Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – United Kingdom
- Communications Security Establishment (CSE) – Canada
- Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – New Zealand
Electronic warfare operators in the Royal Australian Corps of Signals work closely with the Australian Signals Directorate. 7 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) at Borneo Barracks, Cabarlah, Queensland is associated with ASD.
Facilities
The ASD operates at least three receiving stations:
- the Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS), located at Kojarena, near Geraldton in Western Australia
- the Shoal Bay Receiving Station, located at Shoal Bay, Northern Territory[3]
- a small station on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.[3]
These stations contribute signals intelligence for many Australian Government bodies, as well as the wider UKUSA partners. The ASD is also presumed to maintain a workforce at Pine Gap in central Australia.[citation needed]
In addition, it has been reported that many Australian embassies and overseas missions also house small facilities which provide a flow of signals intelligence to ASD.[4]
Naming
The Directorate has operated under a number of different names since its founding:
- 1947 – Defence Signals Bureau established within the Department of Defence
- 1949 – Changes name to Defence Signals Branch
- 1964 – Changes name to Defence Signals Division
- 1978 – Changes name to Defence Signals Directorate
- 2013 – Changes name to Australian Signals Directorate[5]
See also
Other Countries
- NSA United States
- GCHQ UK
- Government Communications Security Bureau of New Zealand
- Communications Security Establishment Canada
References
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<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- Australian Signals Directorate official website
- Open Australia Search: Parliamentary records mentioning 'signals directorate'.
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- Pages with reference errors
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- Use Australian English from June 2013
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Articles with unsourced statements from November 2013
- Cryptography organizations
- Signals intelligence agencies
- Australian intelligence agencies
- Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia
- 1947 establishments in Australia
- Cold War history of Australia
- Defence Intelligence and Security Group
- Organisations based in Canberra
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