Australia Reports More Than 82,000 Cybercrime Complaints as AI Threats Grow

Australia's cyber intelligence agency reported more than 82,000 cybercrime complaints during the 2025–26 financial year as it warned that artificial intelligence is increasing the speed and sophistication of online attacks.

In its annual Cyber Threat Report made public ahead of October 27, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) said its Australian Cyber Security Centre received the equivalent of one cybercrime report every six minutes. The agency responded to more than 1,500 cybersecurity incidents and sent over 4,400 warnings to Australian organisations about potentially malicious activity. The number of notifications was almost 80% higher than a year earlier.

The figures measure reports, agency responses and notifications, rather than a confirmed count of successful intrusions. The categories should not be added together to estimate the number of unique attacks.

ASD said increasingly capable AI tools can help malicious actors identify vulnerabilities, develop more convincing scams and operate at greater scale. It also argued that the same technology can help defenders identify suspicious activity and respond faster.

Director-General Abigail Bradshaw warned that Australians should prepare for interruptions to online services while organisations address security weaknesses. In an interview reported by ABC News, she said some services may need to be taken offline temporarily so vulnerable systems can be secured.

The agency urged businesses, public bodies and operators of essential infrastructure to replace outdated technology, improve routine security practices and treat cybersecurity as an organisational responsibility rather than solely an information-technology issue.

The report describes an evolving risk environment; it does not predict that any particular network or essential service will suffer an imminent attack. Its findings add to pressure on governments and companies to improve digital resilience while adapting to more powerful AI systems.