ASPI Strategic Policing and Law Enforcement expert John Coyne says Australia is “no easy target” for espionage after two Indian spies were expelled for connections to espionage.
Australian authorities expelled two Indian intelligence operatives in 2020 for being members of a ‘nest of spies’ that attempted to steal sensitive information about defence technology, airport security, and trade relationships.
“Espionage is an enduring threat,” he told Sky News Australia.
“It is a significant threat as per the Director General ASIO’s threat assessment earlier this year and it is a growing threat his agency is facing.
“I think also in terms of Australians looking at this the actual operation itself, the ability of ASIO to detect, classify, look across the breadth of that activity, then go through and disrupt that nest of spies really shows that Australia is no soft target for espionage.”
