Australia warns of unexpected online service outages as cyber threats rise

The Australian Signals Directorate's annual threat report recorded 1,500 cybersecurity incidents in 2025-26, up 20% year on year, and more than 4,400 notifications of potential malicious activity, up 80%. The agency urged organisations to adopt frontier AI tools for defence and to prioritise system security over availability.

• ASD responded to 1,500 cyber incidents, a 20% year-on-year rise
• Over 4,400 potential malicious incidents were flagged, up 80%
• Agency says security must take priority over system availability
• ASD urges use of frontier AI models to counter AI-enabled attackers