Revealing secrets : an unofficial history of Australian Signals intelligence & the advent of cyber / John Blaxland & Clare Birgin.

Sydney, N.S.W. : UNSW Press, 2023.

451 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits (some colour) ; 24 cm.

For a long time, the Australian Signals intelligence (or Sigint) story has been kept secret. Until now. Why does Australia have a national signals intelligence agency? What does it do and why is it controversial? And how significant are its ties with key partners the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, to this arrangement? Revealing Secrets is a compelling account of Australian Signals intelligence, its efforts at revealing the secrets of other nations and keeping ours safe. It brings to light those clever Australians whose efforts were for so long entirely unknown or overlooked. Blaxland and Birgin traverse the royal commissions and reviews that shaped Australias intelligence community in the 20th century and consider the advent and the impact of cyber. In unearthing this integral if hidden and little understood, part of Australian statecraft, this book increases our understanding of the past, present and what lies ahead.

English

March 13, 2024

Includes bibliographical references and index.