5. Signals intelligence and counter-terrorism, with David Wells

Sub Rosa Podcast

For this episode, Andrew interviewed former GCHQ employee David Wells about counter-terrorism. GCHQ is the UK government's signals intelligence agency, similar to the United States National Security Agency (NSA) or the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). The interview discusses the nature of signals intelligence and its current role in counter-terrorism. We discuss the threats posed by the "Islamic State" and al-Qaeda as well as the difficulties of preventing terrorist attacks like those seen in Brussels and Paris. We also discuss the current terrorist threat to Australia and dilemmas raised by counter-terrorism efforts so far.