Australia’s Evolving Cyber Landscape: Key Takeaways from the ASD’s Annual Cyber Threat Report

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Australia’s government agency responsible for foreign intelligence and cyber security, has recently released their annual report outlining the current threats that Australian organisations are facing and a summary of threats across the year in review.

The ASD’s Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024–25 continues to highlight the sustained digital pressure being applied to Australia’s public and private sector organisations. With over 84,700 cybercrime reports and a 50% increase in the average cost of incidents for businesses, cyber resilience is no longer optional for modern businesses. Australia’s deep digital integration and wealth make it an attractive target for both state-sponsored actors and financially motivated criminals.

Aster Advisory have seen this directly, where an increasing number of our clients are contending with the increased pace and sophistication of attacks. This has in turn demanded they adopt a more proactive security posture across their business and with the third parties they engage with across their partnerships and supply chain. Many organisations are now being required to prove their commitment to cyber security through increasingly detailed due diligence processes during tendering or procurement activities.

Top Causes of Cyber Attacks in Australia

The leading sources of reported security incidents remain consistent across critical infrastructure and the public sector year-on-year:

Critical Infrastructure (CI)

·      55% - Compromised Network / Infrastructure

·      23% - Denial of Service Attacks

·      19% - Compromised Accounts / Credentials

Government (Federal to Local)

·      37% - Compromised Network / Infrastructure

·      16% - Denial of Service Attacks

·      15% - Malware Infection (non-ransomware)

For small to large businesses, the report also highlighted that compromised email accounts (34%) and identity fraud (11%) continue to be leading causes of self-reported cybercrime threats.

Many common techniques continue to be pervasive for malicious actors. Phishing is involved in 38% of all reported incidents, with compromised user accounts (31%) and victim identity gathering / reconnaissance (30%) also utilised to gain a foothold into the victim’s ICT environment.

This continues to emphasise the need for organisations to strengthen their human firewall to help protect against these attacks.  In our experience, many organisations still do not have the fundamentals in place to help prepare their staff and contractors to be prepared to identify potential phishing attacks or handle social engineering attempts.

Key Actions for Your Organisation

The ASD have recommended ‘4 big moves’ you can implement to help protect your organisation.

Implement Effective Event Logging

You can’t defend what you can’t see. Robust event logging and monitoring help detect anomalies early and reduce response costs by providing critical information to incident responders.

Manage Legacy IT Risks

Outdated systems are easily exploited. Replace unsupported hardware and software, and where this isn’t immediately feasible, temporary measures such as isolation and jump boxes should be adopted.

Choose Secure and Verifiable Technologies

Ensure systems are secure-by-design. Vulnerabilities can exist in third-party products and services, and it’s important to consider how vendors manage this risk during your procurement processes.

Start Preparing for Post-Quantum Cryptography

The next frontier of security will be quantum-resilient encryption. Transition planning must start now to be ready for the future, particularly for sectors reliant on long-term data confidentiality.

In addition to these, fundamental underlying security controls go a long way to helping manage and mitigate cyber security risks. Implementing the ASD’s ‘Essential Eight’ mitigation strategies and aligning to a recognised security framework such as the ASD’s Information Security Manual, ISO 27001 or the NIST Cyber Security Framework can help organisations to start to assess exposures in their ICT environment and fill in the gaps that leave them vulnerable.

Building a Culture of Awareness

Beyond technology, cyber resilience is cultural. Every employee from the field to the board room plays a role in keeping your organisation secure. Multifactor authentication, regular backups, patch management and ongoing awareness training remain the strongest defences against everyday threats.

“Cybersecurity is not just a compliance exercise; it’s a business enabler. Organisations that take these steps today will not only reduce risk but also strengthen customer trust and competitive advantage in an increasingly digital economy.”

To read the full ASD Annual Threat Report, visit the following link: Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024-2025 | Cyber.gov.au

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