"Australia Sees Rise in Cybercrimes on Back of 'Destructive' Ransomware, State Actors"

In the past year, Australia had one cybercrime report every 7 minutes, with ransomware being the most destructive threat faced by the country. State actors continue to pose a persistent threat to the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other agencies whose personal data on the local population makes it an appealing target. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre's (ACSC) 2021-2022 Annual Cyber Threat Report, the country saw a nearly 13 percent increase in the number of reported cybercrime cases to more than 76,000 last year, equating to one reported case every 7 minutes, up from every 8 minutes in the previous fiscal year. The Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the Defense Intelligence Organization, and the Department of Home Affairs all contributed to the annual report. The ACSC identified ransomware as the most dangerous, with all sectors of the local economy directly impacted by such attacks last year, when 447 ransomware cases were reported. This was a 10 percent decrease from the previous year, but the report concluded that ransomware was still significantly underreported, particularly among victims who chose to pay a ransom. The education and training sector recorded the most ransomware incidents, moving up from fourth place the previous year, and accounted for 47 percent of all reported ransomware attacks, along with four other sectors in the top five. Top-tier ransomware groups are still targeting major Australian organizations, but global trends show a decline in "big game" targeting and a shift toward targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). However, this shift has yet to be observed in Australia. This article continues to discuss key findings from ACSC's 2021-2022 Annual Cyber Threat Report.

ZDNet reports "Australia Sees Rise in Cybercrimes on Back of 'Destructive' Ransomware, State Actors"