14 DAY TRIAL // Speaking at the Australian Defence Magazine cyber security summit in Canberra, Major General Stephen Day, deputy director of cyber and information security at the Australian Signals Directorate, has revealed that the country is hit by dozens of malicious cyberattacks each week.
According to Day, 789 attacks have been recorded this year, but there are probably many that have gone unreported or undetected.
“The cyber threat is real. It has real consequences, it is persistent, it is here now. We are in a daily struggle against malicious cyber threats,” Day said, cited by The Australian.
Of all the attacks, 80% are believed to be state sponsored, while 65% of the ones seen in the country’s Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) have an economic focus.
Day has refrained from pointing the finger at any particular country. However, US cyber strategist William Hagestad believes that China represents the main threat.
“Australia needs to develop offensive cyber capabilities in order to defend yourselves,” Hagestad said.