O'Sullivan 's appointment as Director-General of Security was criticised by former Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer Warren Reed , who claimed that O'Sullivan failed to protect Reed 's cover while serving as deputy to the Australian Ambassador in Cairo , leading to the abduction of Reed 's operational assistant by Egyptian security agents and the closure of the ASIS station in Cairo . Within weeks of his appointment to lead ASIO , the series of Islamic suicide bombings of London occurred amid domestic calls for draconian counter-terrorism laws , followed some months later with the 2005 Bali bombings , leaving four Australian tourists dead . In 2006 , O'Sullivan warned that terrorists could carry out attacks on hotels and restaurants in Australia . Following actions by two ASIO agents that a Supreme Court Justice stated was probably criminal and constituted kidnapping under the law , the court dismissed legal proceedings after assessing the ASIO interviews were inadmissible . O'Sullivan defended the actions by the ASIO agents , although he did admit that changes have been made to ASIO 's procedures
series of Islamic suicide bombings of London
7 July 2005 London bombings
Paul O'Sullivan