Australia has expressed growing concerns about the increasing targeting of critical infrastructure in cyberattacks, with one in ten incidents last year linked to sectors such as electricity, gas, water, education, and transport services.
According to a report from the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) on Wednesday, over 11% of cybersecurity incidents involved critical infrastructure, with phishing being the most common tactic, accounting for 25% of cases. Exploiting public-facing interfaces (21%) and brute-force attacks (15%) were also prominent methods.
Defence Minister Richard Marles highlighted the worrying trend of both state-sponsored actors and cybercriminals focusing their efforts on Australia’s critical infrastructure. In a radio interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he pointed out that this threat has intensified in recent years.
Australia, in collaboration with international partners, has attributed many of these cyber incidents to state-sponsored actors from China, Russia, and Iran. The ASD report noted that China’s cyber tactics are evolving, with recent activities indicating preparation for potentially disruptive actions, rather than traditional espionage. Despite these claims, China has consistently denied accusations from the U.S. and Australian governments that it has used hackers to breach foreign systems.
