Cyber Incident Victim: Julie Bishop
Date:
Jul 2014
Location:
Russia
Summary
Australia's Foreign Minister had her smartphone compromised during an overseas trip, prompting intelligence authorities to seize and replace the device upon her return. The breach occurred while she was abroad, though the phone was reportedly not used for sensitive communications. The Prime Minister acknowledged that targeting government officials' phones by foreign entities is a known occurrence but emphasized that critical discussions were conducted via secure channels. This incident aligns with broader patterns of state-sponsored surveillance targeting high-profile political figures globally.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
In August 2014, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's smartphone was compromised during a two-week diplomatic trip to Ukraine, the United States, and the Netherlands. Bishop was engaged in negotiations to secure Australian police access to the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine, where the Malaysian Airlines flight had been shot down by Russian-backed separatists on July 17, 2014. Upon her return to Australia, intelligence authorities confiscated and replaced her device after detecting security anomalies. While the exact method of compromise remains unspecified, intelligence agencies reportedly identified the country responsible for the intrusion. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that although sensitive government communications hadn't been conducted through the compromised device, the incident exemplified routine targeting of high-ranking officials by foreign actors. Abbott emphasized that critical discussions between Bishop and the National Security Committee had occurred exclusively through secured communication channels.
This incident occurred against a backdrop of global diplomatic surveillance revelations. German media contemporaneously reported that Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) had intercepted at least one phone call during Hillary Clinton's tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, with conflicting accounts about whether the interception was accidental or deliberate. The compromise of Bishop's device followed previous disclosures about U.S. surveillance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's personal mobile phone, which prompted a diplomatic confrontation in October 2013 when Merkel confronted President Barack Obama about the monitoring. Similarly, leaked documents from Edward Snowden in November 2013 revealed that Australian intelligence services had monitored Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's mobile communications in August 2009, including calls involving his wife and senior cabinet members. The Australian government faced international criticism for these actions, mirroring scrutiny faced by U.S. intelligence agencies following Snowden's disclosures about global surveillance programs.