Cyber Extortion up 61% in Australia over the past year
This YoY growth puts Australia as the nation that has by far the most victims in the region.
The most impacted sectors in Australia are Professional, Scientific, Technical Services, Manufacturing, and Healthcare.
Cyber extortion attacks targeting Australian enterprises increased 61% in the past year, according to a new report by Orange Cyberdefense - leader in cybersecurity services - but its head researcher and the report’s co-author cautions that this figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg.
While the Cy-Xplorer 2024 report released this month identified 97 attacks in Australia over the last 12 months, Orange Cyberdefense’s Head of Security Research, Charl van der Walt, warns that underreporting could mean the actual number of businesses targeted is up to 60% higher. He had revealed this when meeting customers in Australia recently as part of his APAC Cy-Xplorer tour to promote the criticality of a robust cybersecurity posture in the region.
The report also revealed a worrying trend of cybercriminals targeting English-speaking economies and suggests the scale of the crime will increase in Australia in years to come. "Our data shows a strong correlation between a country's GDP, its use of English as a primary business language, and the volume of cyber extortion attempts it faces," explains van der Walt.
"Australia is somewhat of an outlier at the moment. The country’s economy is the fourth largest English-speaking economy in the world, yet it ranks seventh globally in terms of cyber extortion victim count. We believe that crime levels in Australia will grow until they are in line with the size of the economy relative to the US and UK.”
The report found that the most impacted sectors in Australia were Professional, Scientific, Technical Services, Manufacturing and Healthcare.
“Our research shows that manufacturing represents 13% of cyber extortion victims, which is high relative to the size of the industry within the Australian economy. This is concerning, as attacks against manufacturing put critical infrastructure and supply chains at risk. Disruptions caused by these attacks could have ripple effects throughout the entire economy, impacting jobs, productivity, and even national security. What’s also alarming is victims in healthcare, which have increased by 33% over the last 12 months.”
Charl van der Walt, who leads a global team monitoring cybersecurity trends and geopolitical developments and conducts research using technical evaluations, social science methodologies, and data pipelines to understand the threat landscape, warns that he has seen it (the threat landscape) rapidly evolve since starting his role in 2020.
“Australia is considered one of the most powerful cyber nations in the world alongside countries like the US, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom. Despite having the leading international task force to fight ransomware, attackers have not been deterred from targeting Australia.
"What we’re experiencing on a global scale is a climate plagued with geopolitical conflicts that are constantly changing our security environment. As cybercrime, hacktivism, and state-backed hacking increasingly converge, we expect to see more attacks with a political (or blended) motive.
“The systemic economic and technical forces that drive cybercrime and other threats apply to Australia as much as anywhere else and are further exacerbated by the complex geopolitical dynamics in the region. The convergence of factors should provide a sobering motivation for Australians that a robust cyber protection posture is essential for businesses to maintain security and peace of mind in a highly unstable landscape.”
Orange Business Australia and New Zealand managing director Andrew Borthwick says van der Walt’s visit is timely and imperative to shed light on the seriousness of cyber extortion that is happening in Oceania with the increased number of victims.
“There is an urgent need for organisations to adopt a particular approach to technology sovereignty through a high degree of automation in ensuring agility and resilience,” says Borthwick who hosted van der Walt in Melbourne. “Enterprises need to have a thorough understanding of risks and prioritise vulnerability management and hyper-automation to ensure that systems are protected from potential attacks and be able to respond at speed to any breaches.
“By creating a ‘trust shell’ around systems, it can enable a seamless and secure collaboration between different ecosystems worldwide. The Orange Business goal is to become the technology partner of choice for organisations in Oceania, where that they can always rely on our services and expertise to better prepare and equip themselves.”
To help organisations respond to these threats, Orange Cyberdefense – also the cyber expert arm of Orange Business - offers a range of solutions, including advanced threat detection and response, vulnerability management & penetration testing, and cybersecurity awareness training tailored to address the specific risks faced by Australian businesses.
Orange Cyberdefense has been tracking cyber extortion activities since 2020 and has collected information on over 11,200 victims to date. The Cy-Xplorer 2024 report provides a detailed analysis of the cyber extortion landscape, highlighting key trends and risks, including:
- Cyber extortion attacks are skyrocketing - Incidents have jumped 77% globally in the last 12 months, with experts predicting a further surge.
- Manufacturing and healthcare sectors are increasingly at risk: While Professional Services remains a top target, Manufacturing is experiencing a disproportionately high number of attacks (13%). Healthcare is now the 3rd most impacted industry globally and is also facing a worrying rise in incidents.
- Australia is a lucrative target: Despite a strong cybersecurity posture, Australia's position as a leading English-speaking economy makes it a prime target for cybercriminals.
- The full methodology can be found in the report here.
Press contacts:
Naomi Lewis: +61 435 889 293: naomi.lewis@bursonglobal.com