Antoni Greg Furman sentenced by SA District Court for unlawfully accessing Australian Defence Force computer network

A military officer entrusted with Australia’s defence secrets has been sentenced for stealing them – after comparing his “vast experience” to former minister Christopher Pyne.

As a high-ranking member of the Australian Defence Force, Lieutenant Colonel Antoni Gregory Furman had access to some of the nation’s most important military secrets.

It was a level of clearance he should have lost when he left the Army for the private sector – but when an administrative error left his connection intact, Furman told no one.

Instead, he repeatedly accessed confidential and classified information so he would not appear “ignorant” to his new employer, who made shells for the very artillery he was analysing.

On Friday, Furman stood to attention in the dock as the District Court dock condemned his dereliction of duty – the first modern military secrets court case in SA history.

Judge Simon Stretton said Furman had snuck his way into 233 files, ranging from “low risk” papers to 35 classified documents and even a Cabinet briefing paper.

“One only needs to look around the world as it now is, and the many conflagrations occurring in it, to see how important national security is,” he said.

“Your offending is serious … it was a persistent course of action over several months … and offending such as this will be taken very seriously by the courts.”

NEW MANOEUVRES

Antoni Gregory Furman outside court. Picture: Emma Brasier

Furman, 46, of Joslin, pleaded guilty to nine counts of having unauthorised access to, or modifying, restricted data.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of two years jail and a fine of $25,200.

In August last year, The Advertiser revealed the charges related to his accessing of a confidential Australian Defence Force Network between May and October, 2019.

Details of Furman’s offending, however, went unrevealed until he faced District Court sentencing submissions earlier this month.

David Edwardson KC, for Furman, said his client was a serving Lieutenant Colonel at the time of the offences – but also, over the same period, an employee of a private company.

That company, he said, was NIOA – an Australian-owned, global munitions company that supplies ammunition to militaries and law enforcement agencies around the world.

NIOA’s board is comprised of numerous former high-ranking ADF officers, military scientists and politicians, and is chaired by former Defence Minister Christopher Pyne.

Mr Edwardson said Furman’s ADF services and NIOA employment “overlapped” during the period of the offending.

“His formal employment with NIOA started on July 1, 2019 and on July 6, 2022, his employment with the ADF ceased,” he said.

Mr Edwardson said that was due to his client “taking extended leave”, and being listed as “inactive” by the ADF prior to the “formal end” of his military career.

“It’s absolutely critical to understand that Furman has not been charged with the more serious offence of having used or disclosed the information he accessed,” he said.

“There is no evidence to suggest that he conveyed any of the information he had accessed to NIOA … he didn’t share any of the information with NIOA.”

BETTER ARMED

A group of self-propelled howitzers taking part in a South Korean live-fire drill. Picture: AAP

Years prior to signing with NIOA, Furman had played a role in developing a program to equip the ADF with Self-Propelled Howitzers.

The highly-mobile vehicles look similar to small tanks but perform specialised roles ranging from infantry support to taking on enemy armour.

Mr Edwardson said the government ultimately opted not to proceed with the vehicles.

“In May 2019, Furman noticed media articles which were reporting the federal government’s decision to revive the program,” he said.

“He’d had extensive involvement in that program as its staff officer, for which he’d received a commendation.

“His role required him to keep detailed records of all the project’s documentation, which he stored on the ADF network – his access of which underpins these charges.”

He said NIOA “inquired” of Furman “what he knew about” the project “and asked if there was any potential” for the company to supply its ammunition.

“Remembering his detailed work on the project before it was abandoned, he used (his clearance) to access the network and find its historical records,” he said.

TWO OBJECTIVES

Furman, right, did not financially benefit from his offending, the court heard. Picture: Duncan Evans

Mr Edwardson said Furman had two goals – one he said was “permissible”, the other he conceded was unlawful.

The permissible goal, he said, was to assist the project’s new leader in any way he could.

“The second was to refresh his memory as to whether the howitzers used the same ammunition that NIOA already supplied,” he said.

“He did that so he would not appear ignorant to his new employer.”

He said Furman “continued to refresh his memory” on eight more occasions, each time “curious” about the fact his access to the network had not been severed.

“His intention was that he would have a body of knowledge to draw on for the potential advantage of NIOA,” he said.

“There was no financial gain for him and, most importantly, this was material already known to him and that was not classified ‘top secret’ or ‘secret’.

“As a result, this offending is far less serious than it might otherwise have been.”

Mr Edwardson said Furman should be fined and not jailed for his “foolhardy, opportunistic” offending, calling it an “aberration” in his otherwise good character.

He added Furman’s employment history was not unique within the world of private military contracting.

“Mr Pyne was, at one stage, the minister for defence for a long time,” he said.

“He made a perfectly proper and legitimate transition into the private sector because of his vast experience.

“I’m saying the same thing goes for my client.”

Furman accessed the ADF database, without authorisation, nine times.

OFFICER’S FATE

In sentencing on Friday, Judge Stretton said a former officer retaining military network access after moving to the private sector posed a “significant risk” to national security.

“The potential for commercial and financial harm to the Commonwealth is obvious, and there is also an obvious conflict of interest,” he said.

He noted a psychological report that concluded Furman’s offending was motivated by “low self-esteem” and issues of personal confidence.

“You resigned from NIOA in 2021, and secured a job with another contractor in 2022 … you believe you will have to end that employment upon conviction for your offending,” he said.

However, he said Furman had shown prior good character, had positive prospects for rehabilitation and was unlikely to offend again.

“Indeed, there will be no opportunity for you to repeat this type of offending,” he said.

Judge Stretton recorded convictions but declined to jail Furman, instead fining him $11,700.