Dsd.gov.au
Title
Defence Signals Directorate
Description
What We Do
DSD's purpose is to support Australian Government decision-makers and the Australian Defence Force with high-quality foreign signals intelligence products and services. DSD makes Government and Defence policy more certain and more effective by providing the policy Departments and assessment agencies with important information that is not available from open sources. DSD also directly contributes to the military effectiveness of the ADF, and provides a range of information security services to ensure that their sensitive electronic information systems are not susceptible to unauthorised access, compromise or disruption.
The task of an agency such as DSD is increasingly complex and demanding. Since the end of the Cold War, the world has, paradoxically, become a much more uncertain place, and the Australian Government has to make quick decisions from a wide range of choices as it responds to political and economic imperatives. To do so, it needs timely access to the best information available, and intelligence is one of the sources on which it relies.
At the same time, the revolution in information technology has fundamentally changed the world we live in and the way we all do business. Modern communications technologies have ushered in the Information Age and the electronic marketplace. For DSD, for whom information is core business (we both collect and protect information), the new environment continually challenges us to look for new and better ways to fulfil our obligations to Australia's Government and Defence Force.
