Dr Duncan Grove, Deputy Director-General - Digital and Technology
Good morning, everyone, my name is Duncan Grove. I’m the Deputy Director-General for Digital and Technology at the Office of National Intelligence.
As was done at the opening of this event, I’d like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet, and particularly their continued care for country and traditional knowledge systems. I extend my respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. I would also like to acknowledge our distinguished guests, including Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon. Tanya Plibersek, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Minister for Resources, the Hon. Madeleine King, and AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw.
To the Office of the Chief Scientist, led by Dr Cathy Foley, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today about a subject very close to my heart.
More than 25 years ago I graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in computer systems engineering – and I thought to myself: what now? I loved STEM, but I wasn’t sure how to make best use of my skills. Ultimately, I joined the Defence Science and Technology Group – who are also here to speak with you today. 25 years later I’m still following my passion: working on Science & Technology in National Security.
This week the Minister for Industry and Science, The Hon Ed Husic, released Australia’s new National Science Statement and Priorities. This makes clear that science and technology are central to our capacity to deal with the challenges, disruptions and opportunities facing our country and our place in the world. Together with my colleagues across the National Intelligence Community – or the NIC – we are solving some of Australia’s most pressing science and technology challenges to help keep us all safe.
The Office of National Intelligence, or ONI, where I now work, has a really interesting role within the NIC. We provide the Australian Government with strategic advantage through all source intelligence assessments, open-source analysis – and by enhancing how the NIC works together to protect Australia and advance our national interests.
So, what is the NIC? You might be surprised to learn that intelligence is really a team sport. The NIC includes ONI and the Australian Signals Directorate – where I have been fortunate to work – and the eight other agencies you can see on the slide behind me. It’s crucial that we all work together – especially on science and technology.
As you would know, working on complex science and engineering problems in maths, chemistry, physics or computer science relies on bringing many great minds together. In the National Intelligence Community, we bring together diverse groups of people from all walks of life to solve hard problems. Work that has significant implications for our country. In most cases, much of the work conducted across the NIC, every hour of every day remains hidden, unless you're directly involved with these efforts. But I’m here today to shine a little bit of light on the sort of STEM careers you can have in the National Intelligence Community.
But first, you might be wondering – what is Intelligence? In this context, Intelligence is actionable information that has been collected, processed and analysed by smart people, using advanced tools and techniques, and which helps decision makers to reach an informed conclusion or course of action.
There are many different tools in our intelligence toolkit – and it’s not only tuxedos, vodka martinis and jumping out of aeroplanes. Each NIC agency has a unique part to play – and STEM roles are crucial in them all. For example, right now the NIC is collecting and analysing foreign intelligence; capturing and processing imagery and geospatial intelligence to build a picture of the world around us; investigating terrorism, espionage and foreign interference that’s targeting Australian interests; and analysing open source intelligence to make sense of the constant chatter across social media and the internet.
Here are just a few examples of intelligence activities that you could be involved with if you choose to come and work with us.
- At ASD, while most of the work is secret, not everything remains hidden. Recently ASD warned the public about the threat of state-sponsored cyber-attacks to our critical infrastructure. Thanks to ASD’s programmers, computer scientists, electronic engineers, mathematicians and other technologists, ASD is able to identify these threats and secure our critical infrastructure to keep all of us safe. Critically, this work was done in conjunction with our partners in the United States, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Korea and Japan – showing how the work we do, can have benefits far beyond our borders.
- You’ll also know about ASIO – the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. ASIO is the nation’s security service responsible for protecting Australians from threats to our security. ASIO recently revealed their ‘chamber of secrets’ to show how critical STEM is to its operations. ASIO has a silent anechoic chamber, used for testing listening devices. Alongside technicians working on bug sweeping electronics, engineers developing artificial intelligence tools and data scientists analysing intelligence, ASIO has the full spectrum of STEM roles. National security requires more than just creative ideas, it needs creative STEM specialists to turn those ideas into reality.
- Across the wider NIC we’re gearing up for the biggest technology change in our history. Recently the Deputy Prime Minister announced plans for a NIC Top Secret Cloud, with technologists across the NIC and industry working hard to transform how we use technology to protect Australia and stay ahead of our adversaries. The TS Cloud will ensure we’re able to securely share and analyse Australia’s most classified data quickly, and at scale. It will also provide new opportunities for the NIC to work safely and securely to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning. This is a huge project for the NIC and will require Australia’s most brilliant minds across cloud computing, data analytics and cybersecurity to implement.
- At ONI, my boss the Director-General of National Intelligence is the principal intelligence advisor to the Prime Minister. ONI relies on information from across our entire National Intelligence Community to keep our government informed about national security and intelligence matters – every single day. At ONI we have a significant number of STEM specialists who use their knowledge to help inform our senior decision makers about critical scientific developments here and around the world. It wouldn’t be uncommon, for example, for you to brief me or the Director-General on a science or technology issue that requires the attention of the Prime Minister. All the smarts in the world are wasted if we can’t communicate concisely and precisely on difficult and complex topics like Artificial Intelligence or Quantum Technology.
So, if using your STEM skills to protect Australian interests appeals, please come and talk to the NIC Careers representatives that are here today at our booth – or check out intelligence.gov.au(Opens in a new tab/window).
Across the NIC, we offer STEM entry pathways for everyone – cadetships, apprenticeships, graduate roles, and opportunities for people with experience in the workforce. We need people from all backgrounds and walks of life – because to achieve the best outcomes, we need to tap fully into the diverse community that we serve. One story I’d particularly commend to you from intelligence.gov.au(Opens in a new tab/window)(Opens in a new tab/window) is a podcast with a first generation Australian, and ICT graduate just like many of you – and his journey to becoming the Chief Technology Officer at the Australian Secret Intelligence Service.
And once you are part of our community, we work hard to keep you. We provide flexible work arrangements, competitive salaries, and generous leave entitlements to support busy and fulfilling lives. There are opportunities to live and work overseas. And we support professional development and further study to get the best out of our most precious resource – our people.
So, if you want to use your STEM skills to work on the most interesting problems and make a real difference to the lives of all Australians, I encourage you to consider a career with the National Intelligence Community - maybe even ONI! With the benefit of 25 years hindsight since I wondered ‘what now?’, I’m so very glad I did.
Thank you and come and have a chat at our booth.
15 August 2024