Terrorists using the dark web and encrypted messages to plot attacks have been singled out by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton as posing the greatest security threat to Australia and its Southeast Asian neighbours.
Mr Dutton told his counterparts attending a counter-terrorism conference as part of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney that the challenges posed by terrorists and criminals using cyberspace were increasing.
As well as using the internet to radicalise and recruit new members, terrorist groups are using encrypted messaging apps to plan attacks and avoid detection by police and intelligence agencies.
"The use of encrypted messaging apps by terrorists and criminals is potentially the most significant degradation of intelligence capability in modern times," Mr Dutton told the summit on Saturday.
"They use new generation technology to attempt to divide all of us by exploiting platforms designed to bring us together."
Mr Dutton's comments come ahead of an expected announcement by Prime Minister Turnbull later today about a proposed Australia-ASEAN memorandum of understanding on cooperation to counter international terrorism.
The MOU includes a package of joint initiatives and programs to enhance regional security and build counter-terrorism capability in Southeast Asia.
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Mr Dutton said while the collapse of Islamic State in the Middle East was welcome, Australia and the 10 ASEAN member countries faced an ongoing challenge from foreign fighters returning to the region from the conflict zones.
About 220 Australians have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the conflicts there since 2012.
Australian authorities have so far obtained 21 arrest warrants for people believed to have been in those conflict zones and who attempted to return to Australia, while 230 Australian passports have been cancelled to stop others from travelling to Iraq and Syria.
"Countering that threat requires a united and cohesive regional effort, involving coordination between our respective national security and law enforcement agencies," Mr Dutton said.
"We must recognise that national security cannot be achieved in isolation from regional security - they are complimentary imperatives.
"A nation cannot be assured of its own safety while there are threats at its doorstep."
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