1 in 4 Australian cyber attacks hit Victorians, data finds

Victorians are among the most vulnerable to cyber crime in the country, new data has revealed, with the state experiencing more than a quarter of the country’s cyber attacks.

Victorians are among the most vulnerable to cyber crime in the country, new data has revealed, with Australians reporting an attack every six minutes.

Data for the 2022/23 financial year released by the Australian Signals Directorate revealed cyber attacks on Victorians made up of 26 per cent of all reports in the country — or one in four attacks in Australia

Only Queensland had a higher rate.

In 2023, Victoria also experienced a 10-year high for “hacking” offences, according to data from crime statistics agency, with 625 offences recorded in the year to March 2023 and another 167 in the past 12 months.

Earlier this year Victoria’s court system as well as the Victoria Racing Club were among the major bodies hit by cyber attacks, while a major Optus data breach in 2022 impacted more than 2.8m customers.

Cybercrime hit Australia and Victoria at rapid rates in 2023.

Cybercrime increased by more than 14 per cent nationwide, with nearly 94,000 reports filed to ReportCyber.

Australia’s cyber security hotline answered more than 33,000 calls during this time frame, which was up by 32 per cent, at an average of about 90 calls per day.

The most common techniques used by scammers were found to be phishing and ransomware — which involves installing malware to deny users access to their files and demanding payment for access.

According to the ASD cyber threat report, the top three cybercrimes on individuals involved identity fraud, online banking and shopping fraud.

Small businesses targeted by cyber scammers lost an average of $46,000 last year, while “medium” sized businesses lost an average of nearly $100,000 as a result of mainly email compromises and online bank frauds.

Nearly $80m was lost as a result of business email compromise frauds.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said cyber attacks can be “crippling” to businesses of all sizes.

“The rise in cybercrime is a top concern and unfortunately no retailer is immune,” he said.

“Considering the vast amounts of financial data and sometimes insufficient security measures, retail becomes an alluring sector for cybercrime.

“Some businesses never recover. The reputational damage can be devastating.While the financial losses are substantial, it’s crucial to recognise that the human toll of scams can also be devastating.

“Victims can lose their life savings; the emotional impact can be far reaching and profound”.

More than a quarter of all cyber crimes in Australia last year impacted Victorians.

A recent update on the state government’s Cyber Strategy said described the threat as “continuing to grow in scale and complexity”.

It comes as the state government launched the Cyber Defence Centre in 2023 to “improve our ability to identify, detect and block potential Victorian Government cyber threats”.

A cyber defence internship program has also been launched as well as free TAFE courses around cyber security across the state, which enrolled 3,600 students last year.

More than $34m was allocated to the cyber defence centre in the most recent state budget, with Victoria’s cyber industry tipped to be worth $4.7bn by 2026.

A Victorian Government spokesperson said it was working “closely with law enforcement” to grapple with the “rising threat of cyber attacks”.

“While the Commonwealth holds national responsibility for public cyber security, we’re protecting Victorians through our Cyber Defence Centre — and educating the next generation of cyber experts through our Free TAFE course in cyber security,” they said.