Watch Desk posted an update
Australians should prepare for essential online services to go offline unexpectedly, the Australian Signals Directorate warns. Its chief says businesses and critical infrastructure should use advanced AI models to defend against AI-enabled attackers, while prioritising system security over keeping every service available.
Why it mattersThat is a pointed resilience message: protecting systems may sometimes mean accepting disruption rather than keeping a vulnerable service running. The Guardian reports the warning, but the supplied account does not identify a specific attack or outage.
Discuss: When a service is under cyber threat, should operators prioritise keeping it available or taking it offline to protect the wider system?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
-
Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedAustralia’s Signals Directorate says it responded to 1,500 cybersecurity incidents in 2025-26, up 20% on the previous year. The agency also notified outside organisations of more than 4,400 potential malicious incidents, an 80% rise, according to The Guardian’s report on its annual threat assessment.
The report says the agency warned that hostile governments, criminals and hackers are using AI to gather intelligence, disrupt critical infrastructure and steal money. Director general Abigail Bradshaw said AI tools were needed to automate defences and keep pace with AI-enabled attackers. The figures describe incidents handled or flagged by the agency, not proof that AI caused each one.
For organisations, the advice is less glamorous than a new AI shield: update systems, seek help from the agency and report suspicious incidents.
Sources and evidence
- Australians should prepare for online services to go down unexpectedly as threats rise, cyber agency warns - The Guardian: The Australian Signals Directorate responded to 1,500 cybersecurity incidents in 2025-26, up 20%, and notified external entities of more than 4,400 potential malicious incidents, up 80%; its annual report warns that hostile actors are using AI and recommends stronger defences.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
Your turn
Pull up a chair.
Write first. We’ll sort the introductions when you submit.