Australia will transfer its top secret intelligence data to the cloud under a A$2 billion deal with Amazon Web Services, which Defence Minister Richard Marles said would enhance defence force interoperability with the United States.
The Director General of the Australian Signals Directorate, Rachel Noble, stated that the national security agency would also increase its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data with the shift, which includes the construction of top secret data centers in Australia. “Artificial intelligence is a crucial game changer for all of us in the intelligence community, and we are committed to using it in an ethical, well-governed, and well-understood manner. We need to be very careful about how AI tools are used in our environment, their impact on the data, and the level of governance required,” Noble said in Canberra on Thursday.
The transition to cloud services managed by Amazon Web Services, utilizing distributed, purpose-built facilities, will provide greater resilience to data supporting the defence force, Marles said at a press conference. “If one server fails, operations can continue,” he said. “This will ensure a common computing operating environment with the United States defence forces in the future“.
Director-General of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, told reporters that interoperability with security partners like the United States was a priority.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement that the partnership between the Australian Signals Directorate and Amazon Web Services would enhance national security capabilities and create 2,000 local jobs.
