The corporate regulator will seek to make an example of board directors and executives who are recklessly ill-prepared for cyberattacks, by taking legal action against compromised companies that did not take sufficient steps to protect their customers and infrastructure from hackers.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman Joe Longo will tell The Australian Financial Review Cyber Summit on Monday that businesses must be prepared for the ever-rising risk of cybercrime and will warn firms against putting too much faith in third-party providers of technology systems and services.