Strategies to Counter the Ransomware Threat in Australia

High-profile attacks in the past have forced organizations to be better prepared, and while the proportion of companies impacted by ransomware attacks has fallen from 75% to 69% today, ransomware is no less destructive. Between costly ransoms and data exposure, victims often take years to recover from the monetary, reputational, and operational impact of an attack.

In Australia, ransomware and data theft remain a pervasive and costly threat, according to the government’s Annual Cyber Threat Report released in November 2024. Ransomware is a growing issue for Australian organizations, from those running critical infrastructure to the country’s many small and medium businesses. With tighter legislation now aimed at fighting a myriad of cyber threats, organizations here have to get up to speed with their compliance and also make themselves harder targets for attackers that are becoming more sophisticated by the day.

This whitepaper explores the readiness, impact, and response strategies that organizations in Australia should employ to better defend against the persistent ransomware threat.  It analyzes the updated regulatory landscape in the country and provides guidance for best-practice adoption to ensure compliance with regulations such as the Cyber Security Act 2024 and new reporting requirements for ransomware payments in the country.