Allegations of a foreign espionage plot involving a former army private has shocked the defence community and raised questions about Russia's shifting interests in Australia.
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Former army private Kira Korolev, 40, and her husband Igor, 62, were both arrested in Brisbane after it was alleged they plotted to steal defence information to share with Russian agencies.
The pair have been charged with conspiracy to conduct espionage and are expected to appear in a court in September.
According to former army officer and military lawyer, Dr Glenn Kolometiz, the "concerning" revelations could trigger the reintroduction of tougher security checks for recruits and private soldiers.
"I was surprised. General entry into defence isn't particularly onerous, it does depend which area you go into, but generally off the street [as a private soldier] the security vetting isn't particularly onerous," he told the Canberra Times.
"I think they are now going to ramp that up and as a result of that I suspect it's going to be harder for them to meet the recruitment targets."
Federal police did not detail what level of security clearance Ms Korolev had at the time but said she worked as an IT systems technician in the ADF for several years.
Reports have speculated Ms Korolev had a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance, the second-highest which means she had ongoing access to secret information.
If that were the case it would indicate a "serious failure", Dr Kolometiz said.
"To get through to the TSPV's (top secret positive vetting) it's a really instructive process - it's incredibly detailed. Even TS negative vetting is incredibly onerous - I doubt this woman had any clearances to that level," she said.
"She sought approval to go overseas and those requirements exist which triggers certain checks and if she's avoided those checks then that would suggest there's been a serious failure."
ASIO director Mike Burgess said Ms Koreolev undertook non-declared travel to Russia in 2023 while on long-term leave from the ADF. Police allege she told her husband to access her official work account to then send information to a private email.
The announcement of the arrests came after Mr Burgess revealed in April that a "nest of foreign spies" had been operating in the country, flagging spying as a growing problem for intelligence agencies.
Dr Matthew Sussex, a senior fellow at ANU's Centre for Defence Research, said Russia's appetite for Australian intel has increased as Canberra collaborates more with the United States on high-level security projects such as AUKUS.
He also flagged the prospect of a potential Trump re-election as having significant implications for Australia in its security processes.
"Russia has become much more interested in Australia as a target for information operations and espionage," he said.
"Australia has now increased its ability to access high-end American military kit and its acquisition of long range strike and autonomous vehicles is a good example of that."
Dr Sussex there were often whispers of Russia going on a "recruitment drive" across diaspora communities within Australia but reaffirmed ASIO's stance that anyone with a security clearance was a target to be recruited for espionage.
"The Russian's will probably realise that Australia will be paying fairly close attention to Russian diaspora communities if it hasn't previously, so it's not always going to be a surefire pipeline to recruitment," he said.