Search

ASD’s role in cybersecurity: For legal practitioners   Guidance

Dec 11, 2024 - During a cybersecurity incident, or suspected cybersecurity incident, our goal is to work with impacted organisations, their legal representation, and any external vendors engaged to investigate an incident on behalf of the organisation.

Microsoft Office Outlook Remote Code Execution Vulnerability   Alert

Feb 18, 2024 - ASD’s ACSC is aware of a vulnerability in Microsoft Office Outlook (CVE-2024-21413).
Users of Microsoft Office Outlook are strongly advised to follow the mitigation advice provided by Microsoft if they are vulnerable.

Protecting industrial control systems   Publication

Jul 1, 2018 - Industrial control systems are essential to our daily life. They control the water we drink, the electricity we rely on and the transport that moves us all. It is critical that cyberthreats to industrial control systems are understood and mitigated appropriately to ensure essential services continue to provide for everyone.

Guidelines for software development   Advice

Mar 18, 2025 - This chapter of the Information security manual (ISM) provides guidance on software development.

Cyber security for charities and not-for-profit organisations   News

Mar 18, 2024 - With cyber-attacks continuing to increase in frequency and severity across all sectors, the Australian Signals Directorate is encouraging charities and not-for-profit organisations to take action to protect their online systems.

The Commonwealth Cyber Security Posture in 2023   Reports and statistics

Nov 16, 2023 - The Commonwealth Cyber Security Posture in 2023 informs Parliament on the implementation of cybersecurity measures across the Australian Government for the 2022–23 financial year. According to the Flipchart of PGPA Act Commonwealth entities and companies, as of 30 June 2023 the Australian Government comprised 100 non-corporate Commonwealth entities (NCEs), 72 corporate Commonwealth entities (CCEs) and 17 Commonwealth companies (CCs); totalling 189 Australian government entities.

Australia’s second ever cyber sanction imposed   News

May 8, 2024 - Today the Australian Government, along with our international partners, has imposed a targeted financial sanction and travel ban on Russian citizen Dmitriy Khoroshev, for his leadership role in the notorious LockBit ransomware group.

How to manage your security when engaging a Managed Service Provider   Publication

Oct 6, 2021 - Understand the actions organisations can take to manage the security risks posed by engaging and authorising network access for managed service providers.

Cyber Safety and Security in Sport   News

Jun 8, 2023 - Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) is partnering with Sport Integrity Australia and the Office of the e-Safety Commissioner to deliver the Cyber Safety and Security in Sport course. The course is part of the ASD’s ACSC's commitment to work with industry and government to strengthen Australia’s cyber security posture.

2023 top routinely exploited vulnerabilities   Advisory

Nov 13, 2024 - This advisory provides details, collected and compiled by the authoring agencies, on the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) routinely and frequently exploited by malicious cyber actors in 2023 and their associated Common Weakness Enumerations (CWEs). Malicious cyber actors exploited more zero-day vulnerabilities to compromise enterprise networks in 2023 compared to 2022, allowing them to conduct operations against high priority targets.
The authoring agencies strongly encourage vendors, designers, developers, and end-user organizations to implement the following recommendations, and those found within the Mitigations section of this advisory, to reduce the risk of compromise by malicious cyber actors.

Microsoft Releases Security Updates for Microsoft Edge Browser   Alert

Jun 30, 2021 - On June 24 2021, Microsoft released updates for their Edge Browser addressing two vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit to inject and execute malicious code.

"Bulletproof" hosting providers   Publication

Jan 22, 2025 - Bulletproof hosting (BPH) providers lease cybercriminals a virtual and/or physical infrastructure from which to operate. BPH providers are a specific class of internet infrastructure service that enables malicious actors (including cybercriminals) to host illicit content and run operations on the internet.

Google Releases Security Updates for Chrome Browser   Alert

Jun 21, 2021 - On June 17 2021, Google released Chrome version 91.0.4472.114 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The patch notes for this version can be viewed at Chrome Release Note.

2022-004: ASD's ACSC Ransomware Profile – ALPHV (aka BlackCat)   Advisory

Apr 14, 2022 - ALPHV (aka BlackCat, Noberus) is a ransomware variant first observed in late 2021, used by cybercriminals to conduct ransomware attacks against multiple sectors and organisations worldwide, including Australia.

Log4j: What Boards and Directors Need to Know   Advisory

Jan 7, 2022 - Log4j is a software library used as a building block found in a wide variety of Java applications. The Log4j vulnerability – otherwise known as Log4Shell – is trivial to exploit, and represents a significant business continuity risk. This publication outlines what Boards and Directors need to know in order to protect their businesses.

Russian FSB cyber actor Star Blizzard continues worldwide spear-phishing campaigns   Advisory

Dec 8, 2023 - The Russia-based actor is targeting organisations and individuals in the UK and other geographical areas of interest.

Exploitation of Unitronics Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)   Alert

Dec 5, 2023 - The Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC) is concerned about global exploitation of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and is aware of reports of compromise of these devices in Australia. These devices are present in a number of critical sectors such as water, energy, fuel and healthcare.

Safe Software Deployment   Publication

Oct 25, 2024 - It is critical for all software manufacturers to implement a safe software deployment program supported by verified processes, including robust testing and measurements.

PRC state-sponsored actors compromise and maintain persistent access to U.S. critical infrastructure   Advisory

Feb 8, 2024 - The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assess that People’s Republic of China (PRC) state sponsored cyber actors are seeking to preposition themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.

Iranian Government-Sponsored APT Cyber Actors Exploiting Microsoft Exchange and Fortinet Vulnerabilities in Furtherance of Malicious Activities   Advisory

Nov 22, 2021 - Iranian government-sponsored APT actors are actively targeting a broad range of victims across multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including the Transportation Sector and the Healthcare and Public Health Sector, as well as Australian organisations.

Cyber security is essential when preparing for COVID-19   Advisory

Mar 13, 2020 - In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are developing strategies to protect staff and vulnerable members of our community.

Guidelines for system monitoring   Advice

Mar 18, 2025 - This chapter of the Information security manual (ISM) provides guidance on system monitoring.

ASD's ACSC and international partners encourage action to mitigate risks for Log4j vulnerability   News

Dec 23, 2021 - ASD's ACSC and cyber security agency partners have issued a joint statement and advisory on the Log4j vulnerability providing technical details, mitigations and resources to help address the critical software flaw.

Advisory 2020-008: Copy-paste compromises - tactics, techniques and procedures used to target multiple Australian networks   Advisory

Sep 16, 2020 - This advisory details the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) identified during the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) investigation of a cyber campaign targeting Australian networks. These TTPs are captured in the frame of tactics and techniques outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

2021 Top Malware Strains   Advisory

Aug 5, 2022 - This joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) was coauthored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC).

Gateway security guidance package: Executive guidance   Publication

Jul 29, 2022 - The purpose of this guidance is to inform decision-makers at the executive level of their responsibilities, the appropriate considerations needed to make informed risk-based decisions, and to meet policy obligations when leading the design or consumption of their organisation’s gateway services.

Managed service providers: How to manage risk to customer networks   Publication

Oct 6, 2021 - There are several mitigation strategies that managed service providers can implement to protect their own networks and manage the security risks posed to their customers’ networks.

An introduction to securing smart places   Publication

Nov 21, 2022 - Smart places, also known as smart cities, are places designed to provide enhanced services to citizens using a collection of smart information technology (IT)-enabled systems and devices that capture, communicate and analyse data. To achieve this purpose, previously discrete technologies and systems are interconnected to allow for large-scale coordination, real-time decision making, and increased visibility and situational awareness of the smart place’s status.

ABC Radio interview with Head of ACSC   News

Mar 31, 2021 - Abigail Bradshaw CSC, Head of Australian Cyber Security Centre, interview with Fran Kelly on ABC Radio National, 31 March 2021.

Guidelines for cybersecurity documentation   Advice

Mar 18, 2025 - This chapter of the Information security manual (ISM) provides guidance on cybersecurity documentation.