Criminal phishing trips: cyber attacks in Australia

A joint investigation by Nine News and Fairfax media recently revealed a wave of cyber attacks on Australian targets, originating in China over the past year. While the cases referred to in the investigation involved so-called hackers, recent data from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) shows that many of the cases that are reported to them don’t involving hacking at all.

Half of the reported criminal and malicious attacks reported by the OAIC involved phishing, fraudulently compromising details such as usernames and passwords by posing as a trusted partner in digital communications. A further 19 percent involved credentials that were otherwise compromised or stolen.

While the cases uncovered by Nine and Fairfax show there is an urgent need for businesses at all levels to boost their digital defences, the statistics from the OAIC show that training staff to better detect fraudulent requests should form an important part of any cybersecurity strategy.