Australian airports are "extremely vulnerable" to infiltration by terrorists who could launch catastrophic attacks from within, one of the world's leading cybercrime and counter-terrorism experts has warned.
Dr Jim Kent, an adviser to the United Nations who pioneered digital investigation techniques as a UK police officer, said recent events have highlighted the potential for terrorists to infiltrate airports by corrupting airport officials or hacking digital systems.
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Australian airports warned of 'terrorist infiltration'
Catastrophic attacks could be launched from inside of Australia's biggest airports, warned Dr Jim Kent, an adviser to the United Nations on security and terrorism.
In May, Fairfax Media uncovered widespread and unprecedented corruption among Australian border security workers in Melbourne and Sydney who have been assisting organised crime rings and drug smugglers for years.
Customs examination facilities have been compromised by corrupt insiders, enabling imports of drugs to go undetected, and other workers have been leaking sensitive information, taking kickbacks and facilitating imports, Fairfax's investigation found.
![Dr Jim Kent, a UK cyber-security expert, says airports are vulnerable to infiltration by terrorists groups.](/web/20161127082132im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/r/1/4/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gspq1j.png/1479361487342.jpg)
Last week, the AFP revealed that air traffic control broadcasts at Melbourne had been hacked over several weeks by a hoaxer.
Corruption revelations came three years after a network of corrupt customs officers at Sydney Airport were discovered trafficking drugs. It also comes amid warnings from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission that links between crime gangs and terrorists are growing.
Dr Kent, who spoke to Fairfax Media in Sydney ahead of briefings with the federal government, said the risk was greater when large agencies operated in silos.
"Airports are still extremely vulnerable to infiltration ... by terrorist groups because critical monitoring of unusual activity and enforcement of security measures is rarely joined up," he said.
![Sydney and Melbourne Airports have been infiltrated by organised crime and drug smuggling networks in recent years.](/web/20161127082132im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/3/o/4/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gspq1j.png/1479361487342.jpg)
"Terrorist groups could still work their way into an airport like a virus, for example by covertly infiltrating baggage handlers, immigration staff, freight drivers, pilots and cabin crew."
He said the risk of infiltration is not confined to airports and also affects Australia's nuclear reactors, utilities, transport companies and financial institutions.
![Illustration: Ron Tandberg](/web/20161127082132im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/q/y/b/9/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gspq1j.png/1479361487342.jpg)
As the global head of security and intelligence for data investigation company Nuix, he has briefed several Australian companies this week on using systems that pick up on seemingly innocuous pieces of information among employees and collate it to detect patterns.
He has observed terrorist cells recruit employees by "hammering" them with Facebook requests or targeting those with money troubles. He said recruitment happens over two to three years.
However Clarke Jones, a counter-terrorism adviser who worked in aviation security before the Sydney Olympics, said Australian extremists lack the capability for such attacks.
"The level of sophistication is just not there in Australia," he said.
Kit Bennetts, a former intelligence officer, policeman and airline executive, said Australia does a good job at airport security but it would be "certainly feasible" to infiltrate it.
"Terrorist organisations... watch and learn," said Mr Bennetts, a Southern Cross University lecturer in aviation management. "You only have to pick up a spy book from the '60s to learn about recruitment and gradual involvement [or] about penetration operations."
He said investigators can follow the money trail when it comes to organised crime but ideological crime is harder to detect.
"If you can follow the money, you may notice a sudden change in lifestyle, an employee driving a Merc or buying a flashy house. But ideological recruits are discreet."
Sydney and Melbourne Airports referred questions to the Department of Border Protection and Immigration.
A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said significant improvements had been made since 2012 including tough "checks and a balances", mandatory reporting of suspected misconduct and requiring staff to declare conflicts of interest or changes in personal circumstances. In a 2015 submission to a Senate inquiry on aviation security, ASIO cited overseas examples of terrorists exploiting "trusted insiders" in the aviation sector but said all Australian airport workers undergo criminal and intelligence checks in order to get a compulsory Aviation Security Identification Card.
The department also set up up an internal taskforce following the 2012 customs scandal and refers matters to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
Chief executive of Intelligent Risks Neil Fergus, who conducted a government review into layers of airport security, said Dr Kent's assertion was not "grounded in fact or in any apparent understanding ofthe checks, controls and systems that mitigate against such developments".
He said the 2012 and 2016 corruption scandals showed detection systems were working.