SpyCast

“Codebreaking and Codemaking Down Under” – with John Blaxland and Clare Birgin

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Summary

John Blaxland (X, LinkedIn) and Clare Birgin (Wikipedia, LinkedIn) join Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss Australian codebreaking. John and Clare are coauthors of the new book Revealing Secrets. 

What You’ll LearnIntelligence
  • The importance of SIGINT
  • Codebreaking in Australian intelligence
  • Australia’s role in WWII and the Cold War
  • The advent and evolution of cyber 
    • Reflections
    • Strategic defense and offense 
    • The power, and danger, of communication
      • And much, much more …
      Quotes of the Week

      "What I've noticed with the Australians, and I think it's similar in the other the other Five Eyes countries, these people tend to be quite patriotic to do [Signals Intelligence]. They want to, they love their country, and it also seems to preserve very good qualities.” -Clare Birgin.


      Resources SURFACE SKIM*Spotlight Resource* 
      Revealing Secrets: An unofficial history of Australian Signals intelligence and the advent of cyber, Clare Birgin and John Blaxland (University of New South Wales Press, 2023) *SpyCasts*
      • I Helped Solve the Final Zodiac Killer Cipher with David Oranchak (2024)
      • Australian National Day Special: Intelligence Down Under with John Blaxland (2024)
      • My Father the Navajo Code-Talker with Laura Tohe (2023) 
      • CYBER AUGUST: “So, You Want to Be a Codebreaker?” with Elonka Dunin and Klaus Schmeh (2021) 
        *Beginner Resources*
        • Australia's Involvement in WWII, Australian Broadcasting Service, YouTube (2020) [4 min. video]
        • A short history of cyber espionage, D. O’Brien, Medium (2017) [Short article]
        • Signals Intelligence (SINGINT) Overview, National Security Agency (n.d.) [Short article]
          DEEPER DIVEPrimary Sources 
          • WMD Report (2005) 
          • The ANZUS Treaty (1951)
          • Role and effectiveness of Signals Intelligence in World War II (1945)
          • The Atlantic Charter (1941)
          • The Zimmerman Telegram (1917)
          • Oral History by Ruby Boye Jones (n.d.)
            *Wildcard Resource*
            • Here’s a challenge – For their 75th Anniversary in 2022, the Australian Signals Directorate released a limited edition coin with multiple layers of code to crack on both sides. 
            • Think you can solve it? Check out the link above and test your code-cracking skills. 
              • ...more
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