The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Annual Cyber Threat Report is a product of insights from across the Commonwealth, including contributions from the Australian Federal Police and Australian Intelligence Organisation. The aim is to deliver key insights to individuals and businesses alike about the threat of cyberattacks and how to protect themselves.
The third Annual Cyber Threat Report focuses on the known and emerging cyber threats impacting different sectors of the Australian economy during the 2021-22 financial year. The report helps to inform Australian businesses of the current and emerging cyber threats impacting different sectors of the Australian economy and maps how threat actors have found innovative ways to deploy attacks. The report also contains mitigation advice that all Australian businesses can implement to decrease the likelihood of a malicious cyber incident.
During the 2021-22 financial year, we have witnessed a deterioration of the global threat environment. Most notable was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which destructive malware resulted in damage within Ukraine and across European networks. In Australia, the volume of attacks also rose significantly. Moreover, the sophistication of attacks made extortion and espionage possible at a greater scale than ever before.
The ACSC received almost 80,000 cybercrime reports, equating to one every seven minutes, a 13 per cent increase on the previous year. From those reports, the ACSC highlighted the following key trends:
The ACSC report provides recommendations to prepare for, protect against and respond to cyber incidents, which include:
While over the last financial year, there has been a heightened level of malicious cyber activity, there has also been a rise in collaboration across industry, small business, and government. The Australian Government considers cyber security and reinforcing cyber resilience to be a national priority and by working together, the digital opportunities for individuals and businesses alike remain bright.
The Annual Cyber Threat Report is a great tool to help educate you about the threats your business is facing and advise you on how to improve your security posture. To receive more insights and advice, you can read the full report or sign up to become an ACSC partner. You can also get in contact with Infotrust to discuss how to strengthen your security strategy today.