The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) has released its Australian Cyber Security Centre Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024-2025, and it is sobering reading.
The ADS’s annual cyber security threat report 24-25 has launched.
Here is part of the report’s executive summary:
Australia is an early and substantial adopter of digital technology which drives public services, productivity and innovation. Our increasing dependency on digital and internet-connected technology means Australia remains an attractive target for criminal and state-sponsored cyber actors.
In FY2024–25, ASD’s ACSC received over 42,500 calls to the Australian Cyber Security Hotline, a 16% increase from the previous year. ASD’s ACSC also responded to over 1,200 cyber security incidents, an 11% increase. During FY2024–25, ASD’s ACSC notified entities more than 1,700 times of potentially malicious cyber activity – an 83% increase from last year – highlighting the ongoing need for vigilance and action to mitigate against persistent threats.
State-sponsored cyber actors continue to pose a serious and growing threat to our nation. They target networks operated by Australian governments, critical infrastructure (CI) and businesses for state goals. State-sponsored cyber actors may also seek to use cyber operations to degrade and disrupt Australia’s critical services and undermine our ability to communicate at a time of strategic advantage.
Here is the report’s official video:
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The threat from cybercrime also continues to challenge Australia’s economic and social prosperity, with average reported financial losses, the frequency of ransomware attacks and the number of reported data breaches all increasing throughout FY2024–25. Cybercriminals are continuing their aggressive campaign of credential theft, purchasing stolen usernames and passwords from the dark web to access personal email, social media or financial accounts.
Malicious cyber actors are able to leverage vulnerabilities in the technology and security practices of individuals and businesses throughout the public and private sectors. Internet-facing vulnerabilities in edge devices are common, and they require network owners to rigorously monitor and configure securely. ‘Living off the land’ tradecraft has persevered, requiring an adjustment in the way network defenders prioritise understanding behavioural patterns of networks in order to detect the most sophisticated threats.
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The prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) almost certainly enables malicious cyber actors to execute attacks on a larger scale and at a faster rate. The potential opportunities open to malicious cyber actors continue to grow in line with Australia’s increasing uptake of – and reliance on – internet-connected technology.
CI is, and will continue to be, an attractive target for state-sponsored cyber actors, cybercriminals, and hacktivists, largely due to large sensitive data holdings and the critical services that support Australia’s economy. ASD’s ACSC notified CI entities of potential malicious cyber activity impacting their networks over 190 times in the last reporting period – up 111% from the previous year.
The threat environment combined with our operational observations set out in this report underscores the need for all Australian individuals, private and public entities to take action to uplift our cyber resilience at every level. Every individual can uplift their cyber defences through basic actions. Use strong Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) wherever possible, use strong and unique passwords or passphrases, keep software on devices updated, be alert for phishing messages and scams, and regularly back up important data. These basics have never been more important, and implementing these mitigations can prevent the majority of the cyber incidents reported to ASD’s ACSC.
Businesses should operate with a mindset of ‘assume compromise’ and prioritise the assets or ‘crown jewels’ that need the most protection. ASD recommends businesses and network owners focus on 4 ‘big moves’ to bolster their cyber defences and prepare for future challenges: implement best-practice logging, replace legacy IT, effectively manage third-party risk and prepare for post-quantum cryptography.
For those businesses also operating operational technology (OT), follow best-practice guidance for isolating vital OT and enabling systems, and have a plan for how to rebuild.
For large organisations, ensuring technology used or provided to customers is secure-by-design and secure-by-default is critical for building modern networks that protect data and systems.
The years ahead will bring challenges for organisations in emerging technology, such as post-quantum cryptography. ASD’s ACSC will continue to work with Australian industry and partner organisations to ensure the continued security of our communications and sensitive data. Effective transition plans will be critical to operating in 2030 and beyond – a post-quantum computing world – and this planning must start now.
Businesses must ensure that, in order to harness the full benefits and productivity associated with AI, a safe and secure approach is taken to the integration of AI technologies.
It remains critically important that organisations and individuals who observe suspicious cyber activity, incidents and vulnerabilities report to ReportCyber, or to the Australian Cyber Security Hotline 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371).