Australia Faces Surge in State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks

Chinese Hacking Techniques Pose Threat to Critical Infrastructure

State-sponsored cyber groups and hackers have increased their attacks on Australia's critical infrastructure, businesses, and homes, with one cyber attack occurring every six minutes.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) reported over 94,000 instances of cybercrime in the financial year to June, a 23% increase from the previous period.
The Five Eyes intelligence alliance and Microsoft have identified a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group that has been spying on a wide range of US critical infrastructure organizations, and their techniques could be used against Australia's critical infrastructure sectors.
Australia's relationship with China, its largest trading partner, is complex and has been a source of security anxiety, despite recent stabilization of diplomatic and trade ties.
Cyber attacks against Australia will continue to rise until organizations increase their efforts in security and risk management of their information assets, according to Nigel Phair, cybersecurity professor at Monash University.