Most Common Cyber Security Threats

The most common cyber security threats facing Australian organisations are not the ones that make the news.

• Phishing and business email compromise. A convincing message that gets someone to click, log in or pay an invoice.
• Credential compromise. A password reused elsewhere, found in a breach, and tried against your systems.
• Ransomware. Usually arriving through one of the two above.
• Supply chain compromise. A supplier or software provider is breached and you inherit it.
• Insider incidents. Far more often careless than malicious.

The pattern is that a person is involved at the start of nearly all of them, which is why awareness and reporting matter alongside the technical controls.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre publishes threat guidance. Its site does not render for automated checks, so read it directly. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s cyber security training course and cyber security policy template.