When the news broke that the NSA was spying on the planet with its PRISM program, people around the world were horrified that the veil of privacy was in fact as transparent as ever. However, I’d wager a limited few said to themselves ‘sweet, how can I get involved?’. Wonder no longer wannabe-spooks: Australia’s intelligence agency is now hiring a brand new interception team.
ASIO, or the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, has thrown out a handful of job ads for telecommunications interception specialists working out of its Canberra headquarters.
You can be a Telecommunications Interception Specialist, a Telecommunications Investigations Officer (there are two of those jobs going), or the head of the team as an Assistant Director for Telecommunications Interception.
The less senior positions pay between $65,000 and $95,000 per year, while the Assistant Director position pays between $108,000 and $117,000 per annum.
Here’s what you need to do as a member of the interception team:
• Liaison with telecommunications carriers for the development of lawful interception systems
• Liaison with industry for the development of specialist systems
• Compliance testing of interception solutions
• Trouble-shooting system faults
• Development of in-house lawful interception solutions
And here are the qualifications and experience required:
• Previous experience with carrier networks and/or interception systems
• Project management in an ICT environment
• Understanding of IP networks (architecture, systems and related protocols)
• Understanding of the architecture of mobile telephony networks, including SMS, GPRS and LTE
• Understanding of carrier-level VoIP implementations
• Exposure to international ICT standards and specifications
• Knowledge of mark-up languages such as XML and ASN.1
• Ability to perform and analyse IP captures and perform protocol analysis and network-level problem-solving
If you think that’s you, you’ve got until 8 September to apply.
It’s worth pointing out that all of the jobs advertised are for lawful telecommunications interception work, with conspiracies like the PRISM program staying as just that: conspiracies, not actual job requirements. Still, it’s interesting to see that at a time when we’re more protective than ever of our phones and our personal information, the ASIO thinks that advertising for an interception team is appropriate.
Surveillance image via Shutterstock