Secret documents released by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden show that Australia's intelligence efforts against Indonesia involve a massive penetration of its phone networks and widespread data collection, and are not just targeting suspected terrorists or key political figures.

The documents reported in The New York Times have disclosed new details of how the Australian Signals Directorate offered its US counterpart surveillance of an American law firm representing Indonesia in trade disputes with the US. The documents show the level of co-operation between the US National Security Agency and the Australian Signals Directorate, and for the first time reveal the Australian electronic espionage agency's comprehensive access to Indonesian's national communications systems.

Revealed Australia's intelligence efforts against Indonesia: Former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. Credit:Reuters

According to a 2012 NSA document, the Australian Signals Directorate has accessed bulk call data from Indosat, Indonesia's domestic satellite telecommunications provider, including data on Indonesian officials in various government ministries. A document from last year states that the Australian Signals Directorate obtained nearly 1.8 million encrypted master keys, which are used to protect private communications, from the Telkomsel Mobile telephone network, and developed a way to decrypt almost all of them.