ARTIFICIAL intelligence is accelerating cyberattacks against government networks, critical infrastructure and businesses, Australia’s cybersecurity agency warned on Tuesday, reporting an 80% increase in alerts over the past year.
The Australian Signals Directorate said it issued more than 4,400 warnings about potentially malicious activity during the period, as increasingly capable AI tools helped hackers identify system weaknesses and launch attacks more quickly.
“AI has been the defining force in the cyber threat landscape over the past year, allowing malicious actors to find vulnerabilities faster and exploit them at unprecedented scale, speed and sophistication,” AFP cited the agency stating in its annual cyber threat report.
It warned that recent months had also brought emerging risks from the unintended actions of AI agents and during model testing.
The directorate said state-sponsored hackers continued to target Australian organisations to obtain sensitive or non-public information, with threats extending beyond government networks to critical infrastructure operators, private businesses and individuals.
Hackers linked to China, Russia and North Korea had targeted Australia or its allies in recent times, the report said.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia had to adapt to the rapid development of AI, warning that malicious actors were already using the technology to identify vulnerabilities in computer systems.
“AI is here and it’s real. People need to engage,” he told reporters, adding that there was no turning back the technological shift.
Marles urged Australians to update their computers and strengthen their cybersecurity systems.
The warning comes amid growing international concern over the potential misuse of advanced AI models following hacking incidents involving tools developed by leading companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic.
In recent days, governments and businesses have also been racing to address critical vulnerabilities in a programming language used by a large share of the world’s websites. The vulnerability was identified using a powerful OpenAI model, highlighting both the cybersecurity benefits and risks of advanced AI tools. - October 27, 2026
