Highly classified information will be uploaded onto a secure server that will be air-gapped, meaning it won’t be connected to the internet, under a contract worth at least $2 billion between the Australian Signals Directorate and Amazon Web Services.

It’s set to be up and running by mid-2027.

Partnering with a private company meant Australian intelligence agencies would have access to “the best staff the private sector has to offer in terms of technology capabilities, services, and tools”, ASD head Rachel Noble said.

This included the newest developments in artificial technology, she said, branding its use to help collect and shift through massive amounts of data as “game-changing”.

The security of the service would also be complemented by measures in place to stop massive data leaks in the post-Wikileaks era, she said.

“Access to top secret data is really carefully managed at an individual level and we have very strong controls over what individuals are looking at within that top secret environment,” she said.

“What they’re accessing, whether that’s related to the role that they have within the organisation and what they print, for example – those same controls will be in place when we launch.”

Everyone involved with the building and operation of the project will need to meet Australian security clearance requirements.

Defence Minister Richard Marles
Minister Richard Marles says modern conflict is increasingly occurring at a top secret level. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
The technology was needed to address the complex strategic circumstances facing the nation, Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

“Modern defence forces and indeed modern conflict is more reliant upon information technology upon computing infrastructure than ever before,” Mr Marles said.

“In turn, what that means is that increasingly, modern conflict is occurring at a top secret level.

“So, this capability in terms of computing infrastructure will ensure that Australia may maintain at pace with the leading defence forces in the world.”

It will allow Australia to work more closely with partners, especially the United States, he said.

The government estimates it will create up to 2000 jobs in Australia.

What data will be uploaded to the cloud is still to be determined.

Amazon Web Services wouldn’t comment on what similar technologies it contracts to other countries and whether any adversarial countries had access to the same intel or infrastructure.

Control of the top secret data centres built in Australia “will remain exclusively the purview of the Commonwealth”, Ms Noble said.