In its annual threat report released on Tuesday, the agency revealed it had responded to 1,500 cybersecurity incidents in the 2025-26 year, representing a 20% increase from the previous year. It also notified external entities, including businesses, governments, and critical infrastructure, of more than 4,400 potential malicious cyber incidents, marking an 80% increase in a year.
The directorate warned that all network owners are facing elevated threat levels, declaring that cybersecurity is now a core business risk and leadership responsibility for all organisations rather than merely a technical concern. Government and private networks in Australia experienced persistent breach attempts from state-based actors last year, with officials claiming actors in the Indo-Pacific could be launching attacks to prepare for potential future conflicts, including future intelligence collection or disruption activities.
While the use of artificial intelligence by malicious actors is on the rise, Australian government agencies believe having access to such frontier models and collaborating with leading artificial intelligence labs is critical to bolstering cybersecurity. The annual report urged that Australia must accelerate the modernisation of its technology and cybersecurity foundations to protect everyday systems, and that Australians should fight fire with fire.
Tony Burke, the minister for home affairs and cybersecurity, stated that the government was positioning Australia to respond to the evolving threats and opportunities presented by emerging technologies.
Australians should prepare for basic and important online services to go offline unexpectedly, the nation's signals intelligence agency has warned.