A recent poll of IT decision-makers has shown rising concern over growing nation-state cyber attacks targeting Australian entities – and the fear is justified.
According to The 2026 Armis Cyberwarfare Report, which spoke to 1,900 global IT decision-makers – including 200 from Australia – Australian organisations experienced a sharp rise in the rate of nation-state activity, from 56 per cent of respondents last year up to 72 per cent in the last 12 months.
This is the highest increase among all countries surveyed.
Additionally, 77 per cent of Aussie IT professionals believe that the use of offensive artificial intelligence by nation-state actors will increase the gap between defenders and attackers.
“Geopolitical tensions, AI acceleration, and unresolved security gaps are colliding, bringing the state of cyber warfare to a boiling point,” Nadir Izrael, CTO and co-founder of Armis, said in a statement.
“Cyber warfare is now a constant condition; attackers are operating at machine speed, while too many organisations are still trying to defend themselves with assumptions and structures built for a very different threat landscape. Organisational leaders must heed the call and immediately enhance their proactive cyber security operations before it’s too late.”
According to Armis’ findings, a “high-tension moment is building globally”, with Australian companies fearful of where things might lead. Eighty-four per cent of local decision-makers believe modern cyber capabilities could lead to full-scale cyber conflict with devastating outcomes for critical infrastructure, while 77 per cent believe the rise of generative AI is a major factor in enabling even smaller companies to compete in cyber warfare.
Perhaps more worryingly, this comes as many Australian entities admit their cyber resilience is lacking. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents said that, despite facing a cyber attack, their business has not yet adequately secured its environment, and 45 per cent said they were entirely reactive in the face of cyber incidents rather than proactive.
“As a nation, Australia remains critically underprepared for the escalating cyber threats we currently face, exacerbating the vulnerability of our digital and economic landscape,” Zak Menegazzi, cyber security specialist, ANZ, at Armis, said.
“Traditional security approaches that are reactive, fragmented, and blind to the full attack surface are obsolete. Organisations must urgently prioritise proactive measures to build resilience against the threat of AI-powered cyber warfare.”
You can read the full A World Under Pressure: Cyberwarfare in an Age of AI-Fueled Escalation report here.
David Hollingworth
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.