CANBERRA, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australians are being subjected to more cyber-attacks than ever before, it has been revealed.
Dan Tehan, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security, on Tuesday launched the Australian Cyber Security Centre's (ACSC) 2017 Threat Report which stated there were 47,000 cyber incidents in the past 12 months, a 15 percent increase on the previous year.
Of the 47,000 incidents, more than half were cases of online scams or fraud, a 22 percent increase.
More than 80 percent of hacks occurred as a result of stolen or weak passwords, Tehan said.
The ACSC found that there were losses of more than 15.5 million U.S. dollars in 2016-17 due to business email compromise, a 130 percent increase from 6.7 million U.S. dollars the previous year.
"Cyber security is not just the domain of our intelligence agencies or our defence forces to protect against stolen secrets and cyber-attacks," Tehan said in a speech to the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"Cyber security is as relevant for mums and dads, small business owners and local communities to keep their data, their money and their identities secure."
The report found that businesses were being targeted by phishing email scams whereby scammers send out thousands of emails containing links or documents infected with malware.
The malware can allow a sender to access the computer it has been installed on to, giving them an opportunity to send false invoices.
"The advice is, if you can't identify the sender of an email, don't open it or click on any attachments," Tehan said.
He urged people to report any case where they believed they were a victim of cyber-crime.
"First, business for cybercriminals is booming across the nation and it is impacting all of us. Second, victims of cybercrime need to report. And finally, the best way to improve our cyber security is for government, business and individuals to work together," he said.
"If you're affected by cybercrime, speak up - don't regret it, report it."
