China, Russia and North Korea \u201croutinely\u201d bombard Australia\u2019s critical infrastructure with sponsored cyber attacks to both spy and \u201cpreposition\u201d for sabotage, according to newly released intelligence.<\/p>\n
The Australian Signal Directorate\u2019s latest threat report paints a picture of cyber attacks supercharged by artificial intelligence, as state-backed hackers and digital criminals alike lean on the technology to sow chaos wherever they can.<\/p>\n
The agency responded to more than 1500 incidents in the 2025-26 financial year, marking a 20 per cent jump on the previous year.<\/p>\n
It also issued 4400 suspicious activity notices to organisations \u2013 an 80 per cent surge.<\/p>\n
ASD Director-General Abigail Bradshaw said \u201cAI-enabled threats\u201d were behind the numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last year, frontier AI technologies have fundamentally changed the cyber security landscape,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are creating enormous opportunities, but they are also enabling malicious cyber actors to identify vulnerabilities and conduct attacks faster, at greater scale, and with greater precision than ever before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shift will only accelerate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Bradshaw warned organisations \u201cmust take action to improve basic cyber hygiene\u201d or leave themselves exposed to AI-powered attacks.<\/p>\n
That included attacks sponsored by hostile governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the global security environment remains challenging, state-sponsored cyber actors will increasingly leverage AI to enhance the scale, speed and effectiveness of their operations,\u201d Ms Bradshaw said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Threat Report shows state-actors continue to focus on Australian organisations to gain access to sensitive information, while also seeking to preposition within networks for future intelligence collection or disruption activities at a time of their choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Crisis or conflict\u2019<\/p>\n
The report put the risk plainly, warning that Australia\u2019s adversaries \u201care possibly preparing for eventualities, such as crisis or conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cState-sponsored actors can use disruption to achieve strategic goals, such as limiting the ability to respond to an event or cause social unrest,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
It said conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine \u201care fuelling international instability\u201d and that the world \u201cis under greater strain than at any time since the end of the Cold War\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe global rules-based order, which has underpinned Australia\u2019s security and prosperity for decades, is in transition,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
It named China, Russia and North Korea as common culprits that \u201chave targeted Australia or its allies\u201d, naming proxy hacker groups Volt Typhoon, APT29 and Lazarus Group.<\/p>\n
Their attacks \u201ccould incapacitate Australia\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n
Ms Bradshaw said that while AI was driving new threats, it was also the solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo strengthen our cyber defences, we must harness the technologies that are reshaping the threat environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCyber defenders can use AI tools to improve threat detection, identify new attack vectors and strengthen network defences. Looking ahead, we need AI tools to help automate our defences to stay ahead of AI-enabled attackers.\u201d<\/p>\n