Towards the late 2010s, ASD’s counter-terrorism team helped disrupt several attacks planned by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Working in a coalition, ASD’s Sigint (signals intelligence) and offensive cyber teams played a part in thwarting ISIS’s territorial ambitions in Syria and Iraq.
In one operation, ASD personnel directly supported other security agencies in the arrest of members of a terrorist cell involved in the advanced stages of planning an attack that would have threatened Australian lives. ASD worked with international partners to disrupt transnational elements of this complex terrorist network.
In another operation, ASD became aware of a planned attack. Three experienced language analysts determined which part of the world one of the targets came from. This involved complex deductions from listening to accents, slang expressions, language mannerisms, and background sounds. By listening, the language analysts arrived at a set of well-reasoned conclusions.
Facing a complex and urgent threat, target analysts, cryptologic specialists, data science specialists, language analysts and Australian Defence Force analysts worked successfully together, across three continents, to prevent the loss of Australian lives.
