Redazione RHC : 15 October 2025 16:43
The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) has issued a new warning about the growing activity of Chinese Communist Party-sponsored hacker groups, accused of conducting digital espionage and data theft operations against Australian institutions.
The Cyber Threat Report 2024-2025 , released on Tuesday, highlights that over the past year the ASD managed 1,200 cybersecurity incidents , marking an 11% increase over the previous year.
The document attributes much of the intrusions to the APT40 group, linked to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) . The group is believed to be involved in infiltration campaigns aimed at gathering strategic information from Australian government networks, critical infrastructure, and defense agencies.
According to the report, APT40 carried out “malicious operations” against national and regional networks of strategic interest to China, exploiting infected home and small office (SOHO) routers to create difficult-to-detect botnets . The malicious traffic would then be disguised among the device owners’ legitimate traffic, making defense difficult.
ASD’s investigations also reveal that, once they gain initial access, the group tends to abandon traditional malware, preferring to use stolen credentials to impersonate legitimate users and maintain access to compromised networks. This approach allows the hackers to operate undetected for extended periods.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles stressed that the ASD report “depicts an increasingly complex threat landscape,” noting that “cyber espionage and digital crime now pose a real threat to the country’s essential services.”
Marles reiterated the urgency of close cooperation between government and private industry to strengthen the nation’s digital resilience: “Only by joining forces can we protect the cyber arteries of the Australian economy.”
In a joint statement, Cyber Security Minister Tony Burke and the federal Department of Home Affairs added that citizens remain a key element of the country’s digital defense.
“Even simple actions like regularly updating software, using strong passphrases, and enabling multi-factor authentication can dramatically reduce the risk of attacks,” Burke said, noting that most incidents are preventable .
The Cyber Threat Report reveals that in 2024-2025 the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received 84,700 reports of cybercrime , equivalent to one every six minutes .
Identity fraud was the most common digital crime, with an 8% annual increase.
Over the course of the year, the Cyber Security Hotline handled over 42,500 calls , a 16% increase over the previous year, averaging 116 requests per day .
Economic losses due to cyber attacks have increased significantly.
Individual victims suffered average losses of AUD$33,000 (up 8%), while businesses saw a 50% increase, reaching AUD$80,850 per incident.
The ASD also reported that approximately 11% of incidents handled involved ransomware attacks , while DoS/DDoS attacks exceeded 200 , a 280% increase compared to 2023-2024.
The report’s release comes just days after unknown hackers leaked data on the dark web for 5.7 million Qantas customers .
The compromised information included names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, dates of birth, and frequent flyer details , as well as home addresses and dietary preferences.
The Australian airline announced the activation of a 24-hour support hotline and the provision of advice on protecting the identity of affected customers.
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