The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), the country's agency in charge of signals intelligence and cyber security, warned on October 27 that artificial intelligence (AI) is creating an "unprecedented" threat when cybercriminal groups use this technology to attack computer systems and critical infrastructure.

In its annual cyber threat assessment report released on October 27, ASD said the nature and speed of attacks have changed dramatically since "frontier AI" models emerged. Advanced models like Anthropic's Mythos not only solve complex problems but can also be exploited to scan for software vulnerabilities.

The proof is that last week, this technology discovered a vulnerability in the PHP programming language, forcing a series of websites - including the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) - to temporarily stop operating to patch the error.

ASD believes that rapidly developing AI models can bring great benefits if used for the right purpose. However, ASD said that in recent months, bad actors have taken advantage of AI to carry out cyber attacks on an unprecedented large scale.

ASD figures show that in fiscal 2025-2026, the agency issued more than 4,400 warnings about malicious cyber activity to prevent attacks, an 80% increase over the previous year.

ASD has directly handled more than 1,500 incidents, received more than 82,000 cybercrime reports (an average of one every 6 minutes), blocked 564 million malicious domains and responded to 139 ransomware attacks.

Remediation costs for businesses continue to escalate, increasing 16% to an average of 93,500 AUD (about 65,650 USD)/case; For medium-sized businesses alone, this number increased by 45%, reaching 141,300 AUD/case.

The biggest concern today is directed at the financial system, where Australian pension investment funds manage more than AUD 4,500 billion in assets across 25 million accounts. Mr. David Bradbury, Vice Chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), warned that cyber attacks risk "wiping out" people's accounts if defense systems fail.

ASD General Director Abigail Bradshaw commented that malicious actors are taking advantage of AI to attack with unprecedented speed, scale and accuracy. She urged organizations to urgently remove outdated software and hardware systems, and prioritize system security over maintaining operational availability, including having to temporarily suspend online services to strengthen defenses.

On the same day, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles also voiced support for ASD's call. Although Australia (as a member of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance) still maintains access to powerful defensive AI systems.

However, Minister Marles emphasized that domestic businesses are forced to upgrade their own security barriers to adapt to the context of transnational criminal organizations increasingly abusing AI for profit.

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