There is one cyber-attack every 8 minutes in Australia: ACSC

In a startling revelation, the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) stated in its Annual Cyber Threat Report 2020–21 that Australia is reporting a cyber-attack in every 7.8 minutes. The report also disclosed that close to a quarter of cyber incidents reported to the ACSC were linked with Australia’s critical infrastructure or basic services. The essential services include- healthcare, energy and food distribution. 

The ACSC report released Wednesday said that over the 2020–21 financial year, the ACSC received over 67,500 cybercrime reports, an increase of nearly 13% than the previous year.

Other staggering revelations from the report include:

• Losses reported by individuals, businesses and other entities from cybercrime have crossed more than AU$33 billion.
• Over 1,500 cybercrime reports are recorded every month.
• As per the report nearly 500 ransomware cybercrimes are reported this year, a growth of around 15% from the previous financial year.
• Frauds and scams related to online banking and online shopping topped the list of types of cybercrimes.

The report also stated that over the next 12 months, additional supply chain compromises will likely come into limelight. The country might witness more vulnerabilities even more serious financially motivated cyber incidents.

In March last year, various Australian businesses were hit hard by massive cyber-attack on Microsoft exchange servers. Australia believed that this attack was sponsored by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). 

Bottom Line

The report has revealed that no sector of the Australian economy is immune from cybercrime or malicious cyber activity. Furthermore, the country’s health sector has become more vulnerable to cyber threats especially during the pandemic.