CANBERRA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities responded to almost 300 more cybersecurity incidents in 2025-26 than the preceding year, a report has revealed.
The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) on Tuesday released its annual cyber threat report for 2025-26, warning that Australia continues to be targeted by adversaries that seek to compromise government agencies, businesses and individuals to steal money and information.
It said that the Australian Cyber Security Center (ACSC), a subsidiary of the ASD, responded to 1,524 incidents in 2025-26, up 21.6 percent from 1,253 in 2024-25.
Of the 2025-26 incidents responded to by the ACSC, a subsidiary of the ASD that leads national cyber security operations, the report said that 576 targeted federal government agencies and services or critical infrastructure compared to 461 in 2024-25.
Another 383 incidents in 2025-26 targeted state governments, academia or research and development, large organizations or supply chains compared to 352 in the previous year.
The number of incidents targeting national security or systems of national significance declined from 50 to 23.
None of the 1,524 incidents resulted in a denial of essential systems, but 40 were classified as extensive incidents, including one that targeted the federal government or critical infrastructure.
"AI has been the defining force in the cyber threat landscape over the past year, allowing malicious actors to find vulnerabilities faster and exploit them at unprecedented scale, speed and sophistication," Defense Minister Richard Marles wrote in the report.
He said that Australia's successful adoption of AI would depend on balancing its benefits with a clear understanding of its risks.
The ASD report said that the ACSC notified entities of potential malicious activity more than 4,400 times in 2025-26, an increase of almost 80 percent year-on-year.
It said that the ACSC received 82,000 cybercrime reports from Australians, which was consistent with 2024-25. ■
