ASD processed 1,500 incidents as it prepares for service outages

The Australian Signals Directorate advised the public to anticipate temporary interruptions in essential online services as organizations implement security measures.

In its annual report released this week, the agency stated it handled 1,500 cybersecurity incidents during the 2025-26 period. This figure represents a 20% increase compared to the previous year. The ASD also alerted external organizations, including businesses, governments, and critical infrastructure operators, to more than 4,400 potentially malicious cyber incidents. That notification count rose by 80% over the same timeframe.

Abigail Bradshaw, the director general of the ASD, announced on Monday that Australia must accelerate improvements to its technology and cybersecurity foundations. She stated that protecting systems must take precedence over maintaining access, even when that requires taking services offline. Bradshaw called for the adoption of AI tools to automate defensive work and help organizations keep pace with attackers using similar technology.

The report identified hostile foreign governments, criminals, and hackers as primary threats, noting their use of artificial intelligence to collect intelligence and steal money. State-based actors made persistent attempts to breach Australian government and private networks over the past year. The agency suggested that actors in the Indo-Pacific region may be conducting attacks in preparation for future conflicts, including intelligence gathering or disruption.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and Home Affairs and Cybersecurity Minister Tony Burke supported the guidance. Marles urged Australians to improve protections while leveraging AI, while Burke said the government is preparing for the threats associated with emerging technologies. Both ministers aligned with Bradshaw's position that security should come before keeping systems online, potentially resulting in more services being temporarily unavailable.

Ageing technology remains a major vulnerability, according to Bradshaw. Systems and devices whose manufacturers no longer provide updates present attractive targets for hackers. This risk was illustrated last week when newly identified weaknesses in PHP, the programming language underlying most websites, prompted a rapid response from governments and businesses. The ASD urged organizations to keep systems updated and report suspicious incidents to its team.

The agency also highlighted the strategic value of access to advanced AI models. Bradshaw discussed ASD's access to Anthropic's Mythos model, which the developer has not released publicly due to its ability to identify previously unknown flaws in IT systems. Government agencies view cooperation with leading AI laboratories as essential to strengthening cyber defenses against the rising volume of incidents.