Security breach in Australia: Top secret files found at second-hand shop

As the cliché goes, you couldn't make this stuff up. Classified documents from five Australian administrations covering nearly 10 years were accidentally sold in two locked filing cabinets at a second-hand furniture shop. Most were either “top secret” or “AUSTEO” (Australian Eyes Only).

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) obtained them and published some of their contents online, but withholding others for national security reasons. The Australian Security and Intelligence Agency (ASIO) have since taken custody of the original files following an agreement between the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the ABC. The agreement protects the identity of the source who bought the filing cabinets.

Many on social media have been bemused by this bizarre breach of security:

The files didn't only spark jokes. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is suing the ABC over its reporting of one of the documents which warned of “critical risks” concerning a contentious home insulation scheme during the global financial crisis in 2009. Four young installers working as part of that scheme died in separate incidents from electrocution and hyperthermia. Rudd claims that the document was referring to financial issues, not safety.

Rudd’s legal action has brought its fair share of criticism:

A second sensitive document concerns an audit of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealing that the agency had apparently lost 400 files from the Cabinet’s National Security Committee (NSC) between 2008 and 2013. The AFP responded publicly, saying that the document was outdated and that the final number of files that remained unaccounted for was 33.

None of their missing files was in the ABC haul. “These documents have been destroyed, but there is no official record to indicate that this destruction occurred,” the agency said in a press release.

A Twitter user named Dave The Happy Singer appreciated the irony:

‘The gravity of this scenario cannot be overstated.’

Chris Duckett, editor of ZDNet and TechRepublic Australia, took a sober tone:

The gravity of this scenario cannot be overstated. These are some of the most secret documents that the Australian government creates, usually locked up for 20 years before being released to the public due to their sensitively and to put a bit of time between the actors and their actions, yet here they were, up for sale in suburban Canberra.

Noely joined a chorus on Twitter of those worried about the security of data that the government collects from its citizens:

Concerns have also emerged about whether Australia's allies can trust the country's ability to keep a secret. Defence Connect, a defence industry information site, pointed out:

The ABC has said one file contained highly classified documents that revealed insights into the National Security Committee, which is charged with decisions related to intelligence and security.

When pressed by media in Adelaide, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne refused to comment on what the revelations will mean for Australia's relationships with key allies.

At news analysis site The Conversation, Professor Patrick Weller explored the importance of cabinet confidentiality for good decision-making:

Cabinet government requires confidentiality. Ministers have to be able to discuss alternative options to solve the problems they must manage. They have to able to express opinions and probe proposals.

[…] We still need to balance a legitimate desire for transparency with the need for free and thoughtful debate (or rather, the possibility of thoughtful debate).

Despite these attempts at thoughtful analysis, humour has continued to dominate online responses:

However, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is unlikely to joke about government leaks in future after his unintended second sight earlier in the week:

This is very awkward in hindsight. On Monday Australia's PM Malcolm Turnbull joked about the few cabinet docs the ABC had published as coming from “someone's bottom drawer”