Key Takeaways from Australia’s 2024–2025 Cyber Threat Report

Following the recent European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) 2025 Threat Landscape Report and Microsoft’s cybersecurity intelligence findings, I reviewed Australia’s Annual Cyber Threat Report 2024–2025 — and the conclusions point to a consistent global trend.

Photo: WangXiNa na Freepik

Key Findings

✅ Passwords

➡️ According to the ASD, weak or reused hasztag#passwords are still responsible for a significant share of compromises.

➡️ Credential-based intrusions now account for 42% of major hasztag#cyber incidents affecting large organizations, government, and supply chains.

➡️ Attackers no longer “hack in” — they simply log in using stolen credentials.

Once inside, criminals mimic legitimate user behavior, making detection far more difficult while they:

➡️ steal sensitive information,

➡️ deploy ransomware,

➡️ move through internal systems undetected.

➡️ Attackers automate password attacks at massive scale.

➡️ Password managers and passkeys offer exponentially stronger security.

➡️ Passkeys — using biometrics like fingerprints or facial recognition — are highlighted as a critical next step.

✅ Ransomware

ASD responded to 128 ransomware incidents, consistent with previous years, reinforcing ransomware as the dominant global disruptor.

✅ State-Sponsored Espionage

Australia warns of an “increasing danger” to essential services and government systems — a trend echoed in ENISA and Microsoft ’s reports.

✅ AI

The report highlighted increasing use of AI for:

➡️ voice cloning,

➡️ fake websites,

➡️ synthetic identities,

➡️ more convincing phishing and social engineering.

After reviewing the ENISA 2025 Report, Microsoft’s Report, and now Australia’s Report, I can say that:

➡️ Attackers across continents may have different motivations or state affiliations, but the attack vectors, techniques, and intended outcomes remain almost identical.

➡️ The easiest and most common technique is phishing.

➡️ The biggest threat is ransomware.

➡️ The persistence of password-related breaches is not surprising.

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Author: Sebastian Burgemejster