ASD Director General Abigail Bradshaw orders security over uptime

1,500 cybersecurity incidents were handled by the Australian Signals Directorate during the 2025-26 fiscal year. This figure represents a 20 percent increase over the previous year. The agency also notified external organizations of more than 4,400 potentially malicious attacks, an 80 percent rise in annual notifications.

These numbers appear in the ASD annual cyber threat report released this month. The document outlines how hostile foreign governments, criminals, and hackers are using artificial intelligence to collect intelligence and steal money. State-based actors in the Indo-Pacific region are conducting attacks that may prepare for future conflicts, including intelligence gathering and disruption.

Abigail Bradshaw, the ASD director general, spoke on Monday about the need to accelerate technology improvements. She stated that Australia must automate defensive work using AI tools to stay ahead of attackers. Bradshaw has previously discussed the agency's access to Anthropic's Mythos model. The developer cited the model's ability to find previously unknown flaws as the reason it cannot be released publicly.

Government officials are aligning with this strategy. Defence minister Richard Marles urged Australians to improve protections while leveraging AI. Home affairs and cybersecurity minister Tony Burke said the government is preparing Australia to respond to emerging technology threats and opportunities.

Bradshaw identified ageing technology as a major vulnerability, specifically systems where manufacturers no longer provide updates. Last week, newly identified weaknesses in the PHP programming language forced governments and businesses to rush fixes. This event highlighted how quickly outdated systems can become targets for hackers.

The ASD warns that protecting systems must take precedence over maintaining access. Organizations should expect temporary unavailability as they carry out security work. The agency urges businesses and critical infrastructure operators to keep systems updated and report suspicious incidents. Security is now a central business risk for organizational leaders.

The report notes that AI helps attackers discover weaknesses and conduct operations more quickly. Every network owner faces heightened threats. The ASD advises that cybersecurity is a responsibility for leaders, not just technical staff. Organizations are encouraged to adopt advanced AI models to detect suspicious activity and improve incident responses.