There are assorted ways to describe the writings of Desmond Ball with respect to signals intelligence. One is to note the volume or types of publications. Even without including working papers, many of which became the basis for articles or book chapters, an examination of Ball's vita yields evidence of over thirty books, monographs, articles, and book chapters explicitly focusing on signals intelligence. In addition, there are a number of works — for example, A Suitable Piece of Real Estate, The Ties that Bind, or The Intelligence War in the Gulf — in which a discussion of signals intelligence activities is a key element.

An alternative, somewhat hybrid approach, is to focus on the targets of his research as well as some other common aspects of his output. One can identify a number of works that might be grouped under “SIGINT History” — that is, signals intelligence activities during World War II or during the early Cold War. A second group is the one in which Soviet/ Russian intelligence activities were the focus. In addition, there is his work concerning various aspects of UKUSA SIGINT operations. Then there are two variants of what might be called the “SIGINT in…” effort — one of which focuses solely on the signals intelligence organisations and activities of the target nation, and another which concerns both allied and host country SIGINT efforts.

Those do not exhaust the categories that can be used to describe his SIGINT research. Another group of writings reflect the expansion of the SIGINT field to include information warfare and, now, cyberwar. Finally, there are those works concerning relatively contemporary events that might be grouped under the heading “SIGINT in Action”. The books, articles, and other publications that fall in that category involve the collection of SIGINT (usually, communications intelligence) in support of specific military activities or to provide intelligence to political leaders.

SIGINT History

Among Ball's major works in the “SIGINT History” category is one that he co-authored with David Horner. Published in 1998, Breaking the Codes: Australia's KGB Network, 1944–1950 is a significant addition to the literature on Soviet World War and early Cold War espionage networks stimulated by the VENONA declassification.