Australia reports 20% rise in cyber incidents, nearly 80% jump in threat notifications amid critical infrastructure risks - Industrial Cyber

Australia’s cyber watchdog reported a sharp rise in both incidents and threat notifications amid heightened risks to critical infrastructure. The Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) says it responded to more than 1,500 cybersecurity incidents during 2025–26, up over 20% from the previous year. It also notified entities of potential malicious activity more than 4,400 times, nearly an 80% increase, in its Annual Cyber Threat Report 2025–26. The report points to rapidly advancing AI as a major factor, helping attackers find vulnerabilities faster and exploit them at greater scale. It warns that criminals are using social engineering and trusted relationships, while state-linked actors target governments, businesses and individuals. It urges faster patching, core security controls, multifactor authentication or passkeys, and stronger network resilience.