Australia is looking into building their own top-secret cloud platform to store intelligence data.
The head of Australia’s intelligence agencies, Andrew Shearer, announced they are actively exploring this. He said it could totally transform how they operate and improve collaboration with allies.
The UK and US already have intelligence clouds, so Australia can probably learn from their experiences.
Shearer talked about this at an event in Washington DC. He said the cloud would “open up a shared collaborative space that will really reinforce this sense of working together as a community.”
He also discussed artificial intelligence. He said intel analysts have concerns about AI’s limitations but that it has huge potential for gathering and analyzing intel.
Standards will be important there. As will cooperation with allies – Australia is expanding engagement with Southeast Asian nations, Japan, and some European countries.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Australia realizes it needs to partner more with countries that share its priorities.
So in summary – Australia wants its own classified cloud to modernize intel capabilities and team up better with friendly nations. AI is also on the agenda but with caution about its gaps.
It makes sense with threats evolving so quickly, Australia would want to fast-track digital transformation of its intel agencies. And tighten bonds with allies.
