Australia's electronic espionage agency is entering a deal with major countries to tap undersea fibre optic telecommunications cables that link Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
The Australian Signals Directorate is in partnership with British, American and Singaporean intelligence agencies.
The undersea fibre optic telecommunications carry much of Australia's international phone and Internet traffic, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
According to the report, secret information disclosed by WikiLeaks whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the British Government Communications Headquarters is collecting all data transmitted to and from the United Kingdom and Northern Europe via the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable that runs from Japan, via Singapore, Djibouti, Suez and the Straits of Gibraltar to Northern Germany.
Australia is connected to SEA-ME-WE-3 by a link from Singapore to Perth, and GCHQ's bulk interception includes much of Australia's telecommunications and internet traffic with Europe, the report said.
The report added that Australian intelligence sources said that Singaporean intelligence co-operates with Australia in accessing and sharing communications carried by the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable, which lands at Tuas on the western side of Singapore Island.