Insider Trading

MEMO TO : OFFICE OF NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS
FROM : DEFENCE SIGNALS DIRECTORATE
SHOAL BAY ECHELON INTERCEPT
DATE : August 28 2003
CLASSIFICATION DISTRIBUTION TO LEVEL MSC1A

Based on identification of DICTIONARY item ” Department of Defence” the following intercept was received on August 28 2003.

ORIGIN OF SIGNAL : Optus Telecommunications Satellite South Pacific
Mobile Phone Number 0413901261

CONTENT :

Sender : “G’Day Wayne, you never received this message OK?”
Receiver: “What message ?”
Sender : “I have just posted the results of a Department of Defence tender to the government website awarding a contract for the construction of 12 new patrol boats for the RAN.”
Receiver: “So what, everybody’s been waiting for the tender results, it’s hardly news.”
Sender : “But nobody’s told the company yet and notice hasn’t been issued to the ASX.”
Receiver: “You mean the information isn’t available to the company that’s won the tender but anyone who reads the DoD website knows who it is?”
Sender : “That’s right, could you organise to buy some shares for me…. usual deal, through a proxy in Singapore, held in trust by Citibank.”
Receiver: “Yeah, no problem, how much do you want?”
Sender : “How much can you carry me for ?”
Receiver: “100 grand OK?”
Sender : “Great, do it, Oh, by the way, dont bother logging on the site, the ASX code is ASB.

EOM.

I wish, I wish.

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a concerned citizen
a concerned citizen
2025 years ago

This can’t be for real can it ? Nobody can intercept digital mobile phone calls. Is nothing secret ?

woodsy
woodsy
2025 years ago

No, nothing’s secret, every radio, HF, VHF, UHF satellite (including mobile (or cell phone) transmissions are scannned and monitored by an integrated network of bases across the north of Australia and fed into a world wide system called Echelon.

How do you think the Bali bombers were caught so quickly ? The Australian Federal Police used Echelon intercepts to locate and identify suspects for the Indonesian authorities from their mobile phones. Indeed, by using the two words ‘Bali bombers’ this comment has probably triggered an Echelon intercept.

A reliable source suggests that DSD is a regular visitor to all sorts of websites, including this one.

To find out more about the Echelon network read Chapter 14 of Southern Pearl.