Australia warns AI poses 'unprecedented' cyber threat as attacks surge

Australia’s cybersecurity agency has warned that artificial intelligence poses an “unprecedented” threat, as foreign governments turn AI loose to hack computer networks and critical infrastructure.

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), in its annual cyber threat report, said AI had 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”.

The directorate issued more than 4,400 warnings about potentially malicious activity over the past year, an 80% increase on the previous 12 months, according to the report. State-sponsored cyber actors continued to target Australian organisations primarily to gain access to sensitive or non-public information, and the activity extended beyond government networks to critical infrastructure, private businesses and individuals.

The report said hackers linked to China, Russia and North Korea had targeted Australia or its allies in recent times. It also noted that “in recent weeks, new threats have emerged from the unintended actions of AI agents and model testing”.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the nation could not ignore the AI revolution. “AI is here and it’s real. People need to engage,” he told reporters.

Sources: Free Malaysia Today (AFP), The Manila Times (AFP), Australian Cyber Security Magazine