Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud service division of Amazon, has won a contract worth A$2 billion (US$1.3 billion) with the Australian government. Under the contract, AWS will build three data centers to enhance the secure exchange of information with allies, including the United Kingdom and the United States.
AWS already provides cloud computing services for the US and British governments. With this new contract, Australia will be able to strengthen its capability to share intelligence and military information and use artificial intelligence (AI) for data analysis. Australia is a member of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance, which also includes the USA, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada.
Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that the agreement would increase "interoperability" with the United States and ensure that Australia would have a far more robust, capable, modern, and powerful defense force in the future.
Rachel Noble, Director-General of the Australian Signals Directorate, said that the use of cloud-based AI would strengthen the country's intelligence work across ten different government agencies. "It is a turning point in how we understand the data we have," she said about the use of AI for collecting, interpreting, and prioritizing security-relevant data.
Mike Bareja, Deputy Director of the Cyber, Technology, and Security Unit at the ASPI think tank, said that the AWS contract would support the strategic need of allies in the Indo-Pacific, including "Five Eyes" and the smaller AUKUS group, to create a platform for data exchange that goes beyond the secure sharing of classified documents.
He argued that future autonomous weapon systems would, for example, require data exchange and a unified cloud. "Intelligence and military operations are now data operations," said Bareja, adding that the cloud platform and AI would enable faster decision-making processes through government agencies and create a stronger platform for Pillar II of the Aukus pact, which promotes the exchange of advanced technologies.
Since AWS won a $600 million contract with US intelligence agencies in 2013, the company has established a strong position in "top-secret" cloud contracts worldwide. This contract was later expanded to include other companies like Microsoft and IBM.
The British government followed in 2021 with a cloud contract with AWS worth up to 1 billion pounds to place AI and data exchange at the center of its operations.
The three dedicated data centers are funded by Australia's existing commitment to significantly increase defense spending to prepare for "resilience against coercion" in the Indo-Pacific as geopolitical tensions with China have increased.
Australia has revised its defense strategy and committed to a significant upgrade of its naval fleet, including the delivery of nuclear-powered submarines for the first time under the AUKUS agreement.
The announcement of the AWS contract coincided with an incident in the Australian Parliament where a group of protesters climbed onto the roof of the building and unveiled banners displaying the inverted red triangle symbol to criticize the government's stance on the war in the Gaza Strip.
Bareja stated that the protest highlights the challenge faced by intelligence agencies in developing state-of-the-art strategic capabilities while also dealing with more fundamental security threats posed by individuals. "It is a dichotomy that defines the security debate," he said.
