Australian gov't organizations repelling hundreds of cyber attacks daily: survey

Australia's critical infrastructure organizations are being targeted by cyber criminals hundreds of times every day, the government has said, after it released the results of a cyber security survey on Wednesday.

In a joint statement released by Attorney-General George Brandis and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security Dan Tehan, the government has released the results of a comprehensive cyber security survey, which found that the vast majority of Australia's critical organizations had repelled cyber attacks in the last 12 months.

"This week marks the first anniversary of the launch of (the government's) Cyber Security Strategy," the statement said.

"The strategy has increased awareness of cyber security threats and the government continues to collaborate with industry to mitigate the online risks facing all Australians," it said.

"(This survey) confirms that many Australian organizations - 90 percent of those surveyed - are experiencing some form of attempted or successful cyber security compromise, and that some are being targeted up to hundreds of times per day.

"Importantly, the survey demonstrates a high level of ability of organizations to prepare for and recover from cyber threats. However the continually changing threat environment means more needs to be done to prepare, adapt and detect potentially malicious activity."

According to the government, the survey shows that organizations - namely senior executives and boards - need to consider cyber security risks more regularly and not just when there is an incident to manage, as well as better understand the value of the data they are trying to protect from outside sources. Endit