Australia's Critical Infrastructure Faced By Cyber Threats, Sponsored Countries Become In The Spotlight

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles (photo: @RichardMarlesMP)

Australia expressed concern over the increasing cyber threat targeting the country's critical infrastructure. There have been recent reports showing that one in ten cyber incidents last year involved vital sectors such as electricity, gas, water, education, and transportation.

The Australian Signal Directorate (Australian Signals Directorate) in its report on Wednesday, November 20 revealed that more than 11% of cyber incidents in the country last year were linked to critical infrastructure. Of these, 25% are phishing incidents, 21% are exploitation of public interfaces, and 15% use the Gross force attack method.

"We are seeing an alarming increase in the focus of cybercriminals and state actors on our critical infrastructure," Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Australia also identified that the cyber incidents were linked to activities from China, Russia, and Iran, which use increasingly sophisticated techniques.

The report notes that China's cyber engineering is developing with targets and behavior consistent with preparations for destructive effects', not just traditional cyber spy operations. Beijing, however, has repeatedly denied accusations from the Australian and US governments regarding their involvement in hacking foreign computer systems.

Australia has teamed up with international partners to monitor and respond to this threat, while increasing awareness of possible impacts on critical infrastructure that could disrupt the lives of the wider community.