AUSTRALIAN CYBERcrime RATE REACHES NEW HIGH AS REPORTED INCIDENCES INCREASE BY SEVEN PERCENT

Canberra [Australia] - Australians are under increasing threat from cybercrime, with reports of the crime rising by seven percent in the 12-month period to end of June, according to a recent report by the country's signals intelligence agency.

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) released its Annual Cyber Threat Report for 2023-24, indicating that an alarming number of people reported cybercrime incidents almost every minute. In this period alone, there were 87,400 reports filed – the equivalent of one incident every six minutes on average.

On balance with the rise in overall reported criminality, the report also discovered financial losses per person affected increased by 17 percent from $20,082.70 last year to AU$30,720.

Businesses experienced losses falling by eight per cent despite a sharp surge in their own recorded cybercrime rates. However, three prevalent forms of identified crimes made most significant impact: identity fraud, electronic shopping fraud and banking online abuse — according to the report provided to media by ASD.

"The 2023-24 Annual Cyber Threat Report for 2023-24 highlights the importance and urgency of everyone's contribution towards fostering cyber security," said Richard Marles, Australia's defense minister and Deputy PM. "Notably it also brings out an enhanced awareness over a widespread threat to all Australian citizens".

Also, ASD noted that in 2024 alone, 1,100 instances were reported — among which about half were unproductive low-level threats but as many as 52 critical incident cases were involved (targeting the government alongside services and critical networks).

The report stressed eight percent of total incidents had direct implications on fundamental infrastructure.

(Australia-based news daily website will continue reporting updates and analysis related to cyber security in coming days.)