March 1, 2024
The thousands of public servants who are "publicly boasting" about their security clearances online should have to justify keeping them, Liberal senator James Paterson says.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess revealed more than 14,000 bureaucrats were posting their security clearances online, in a speech on Wednesday.
This was the figure observed on "just one professional networking site" - thought to be LinkedIn.
Mr Burgess made the remarks in his annual threat assessment, where he also spoke on an "A-team" of foreign spies who used social media to recruit contacts.
"On just one professional networking site, there are 14,000 Australians publicly boasting about having a security clearance or working in the intelligence community," the spy boss said.
"Some even out themselves as intelligence officers - even while proving they're not particularly good ones!"
The ASIO director-general issued the same warning in his 2023 threat assessment, where he called out the "unprofessional" behaviour.
The number appears to be reducing - he cited 16,000 cases of this last year.
The ASIO boss said he had written to agency heads across the public service to warn of the risks.
The opposition's spokesperson for Home Affairs, James Paterson, called for public servants engaging in this behaviour to be held to account.
"[Mr Burgess] disclosed that there are now 14,000 Australian government officials who publicly advertise their security clearance on their LinkedIn pages," Senator Paterson told journalists in Canberra.
"In my view this is a prima facie case why those people should have to explain why they should continue to have their security clearances.
"Because it is an obvious threat to security to put your security clearance online and advertise it."
