Key facts
- ASD responded to 1,500 cybersecurity incidents in the 2025-26 year, a 20% increase from the previous year.
- ASD notified external entities of over 4,400 potential malicious cyber incidents, an 80% increase year-on-year.
- Hostile foreign governments, criminals and hackers are using AI to gather intelligence, disrupt critical infrastructure and steal money.
- Legacy technology, such as outdated or unsupported systems, are attractive targets for hackers.
Australians should prepare for unexpected outages of essential online services, as the nation's cyber threat landscape intensifies, according to the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). In its annual cyber threat report, the ASD highlighted a significant increase in cybersecurity incidents and notifications of potential malicious activity, driven by the growing use of artificial intelligence by hostile actors. The agency stressed that system security must be prioritized over system availability, and urged organizations to modernize their technology and cybersecurity foundations to defend against increasingly sophisticated threats.