# Australian Signals Directorate warns services may go offline, urges AI defenses

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-10-26T11:30:40Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/australian-signals-directorate-warns-services-may-go-offline-urges-ai

## Summary

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) cautioned that basic and critical online services could be taken offline unexpectedly, saying system security must trump availability. In its annual cyber‑threat report released on Tuesday, ASD said it responded to 1,500 cybersecurity incidents in the 2025‑26 year, a 20% rise, and notified more than 4,400 potential malicious incidents, up 80% year‑on‑year. The agency warned that hostile foreign governments, criminals and hackers are increasingly using AI to gather intelligence, disrupt infrastructure and steal money, and urged organisations to adopt cutting‑edge AI tools to automate defences.

ASD director‑general Abigail Bradshaw stressed that “legacy technology” is a prime target and that AI‑enabled attackers are accelerating threats. She noted ASD’s access to Anthropic’s Mythos model, which the lab has kept private because it can expose unknown system flaws. Defence minister Richard Marles and home‑affairs minister Tony Burke echoed the call for modernising technology and treating cybersecurity as a core business risk.

The report also referenced recent PHP vulnerabilities that prompted a rapid patch effort, reinforcing the message that organisations must update systems, seek ASD assistance and accept that some services may need to be taken offline to secure them.

## Key points

- ASD handled 1,500 incidents in 2025‑26, a 20% increase from the prior year.
- More than 4,400 potential malicious incidents were reported, up 80% year‑on‑year.
- ASD urges use of AI tools like Anthropic’s Mythos to automate cyber defences.

## Why it matters

AI‑enabled cyber threats are rising fast, and government guidance that security may require services to go offline signals a shift in risk management for all Australian organisations.

## Sources

1. [Australians should prepare for online services to go down unexpectedly as threats rise, cyber agency warns](https://theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/26/australians-should-prepare-for-online-services-to-go-down-unexpectedly-as-threats-rise-cyber-agency-warns) (The Guardian AI, 2026-10-26)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Australian Signals Directorate warns services may go offline, urges AI defenses", 26 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/australian-signals-directorate-warns-services-may-go-offline-urges-ai

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