Australia: AI is now the defining force in cyberattacks

Australia's cyber agency says artificial intelligence “has been the defining force in the cyber threat landscape over the past year.” The Australian Signals Directorate's Annual Cyber Threat Report for 2025–26, published October 26, says AI lets malicious actors find and exploit vulnerabilities faster and at unprecedented scale, speed and sophistication.

The numbers behind the warning: the agency fielded more than 82,000 cybercrime reports — about one every six minutes — responded to over 1,500 incidents, up more than 20%, and notified organisations of potentially malicious activity more than 4,400 times, almost 80% more than the year before. The report also flags new threats “from the unintended actions of AI agents and model testing.”

The average self-reported cost of cybercrime was $33,000 for individuals and $93,500 for businesses. Defence Minister Richard Marles said no technology since the Second World War has carried greater potential to boost Australia's sovereign capabilities — and warned organisations to prepare for service disruptions rather than assume they can stay online through an attack.