A collaborative approach to mitigating cyber threats

“Cyber threats have intensified due to emerging technologies (like artificial intelligence) and a new era of ‘harsh geostrategic competition’ – becoming more sophisticated, persistent, and damaging, affecting governments, businesses, and individuals alike,” Corera told Cyber Daily.

“Cyber threats have shifted from being just financially motivated cyber crimes to geopolitical weapons.”

Corera emphasised that supply chain exploitation is something organisations should look out for in 2025, stating: “Cyber attacks targeting software providers, cloud services, and IT suppliers are escalating, allowing attackers to infiltrate multiple businesses through a single point of failure.”

He also highlighted the increased targeting of critical infrastructure, telling Cyber Daily that “essential services like energy, healthcare, and finance are becoming prime targets for disruption”.

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“Attacks on these sectors can have significant economic and societal consequences, making it crucial for businesses in these areas to have robust cyber security measures,” he said.

Additionally, Corera pinpointed ransomware as a pressing concern in the evolving cyber landscape, stating: “Cyber crime is becoming ‘professionalised’, with criminal organisations offering ‘ransomware as a service’.

“This is lowering the barrier to entry, making ransomware one of the fastest-growing cyber threats today.”

One estimate by British IT firm Sophos showed more than half (59 per cent) of organisations worldwide were targeted by ransomware in 2024.

“The costs of complicity or ignoring these threats are rapidly increasing. This is requiring businesses to keep up with the evolving threat landscape,” Corera said.

Strengthening cyber security through collaboration

As the digital world becomes more interconnected, defending against cyber threats requires cooperation between governments, businesses, and international partners.

Corera said that “cyber threats evolve too quickly for any one organisation to tackle alone”.

“Businesses should consider joining industry-led and government-backed cyber security alliances to stay ahead of threats,” Corera said.

“By forging stronger partnerships with allied businesses and governments, companies can pool resources, share best practices, and coordinate responses to global cyber threats,” he said.

“The rise of AI-driven cyber threats, state-sponsored espionage, and ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) means that no single country can effectively defend itself alone.”

“Shared cyber defence mechanisms – such as multilateral threat intelligence sharing, joint cyber exercises, and coordinated incident response strategies – create a collective shield that is stronger than any nation’s individual efforts.”

“Initiatives like the Quad Cybersecurity Partnership (Australia, the US, Japan, and India) are already boosting threat detection and response coordination across the Indo-Pacific.”

“These arrangements can also facilitate governments and industries to collaborate on skills development, research, and talent mobility programs – ensuring that expertise is shared and applied across the region.”

Corera stressed that “cyber security is a team sport – companies that collaborate internationally will be better defended”.

The future of AI and cyber security

“The rise of AI-powered cyber threats is already reshaping the cyber security landscape,” Corera said.

“Cyber criminals are leveraging AI to automate and enhance their attacks.

“This includes sophisticated phishing attacks, deepfake scams, and automated malware generation.

“AI-enhanced attacks are becoming more deceptive, and so, harder to detect, as well as scalable and so challenge response capacities.

“Ultimately, it is making it harder for businesses and individuals to identify and defend against threats.

Corera added: “To combat these risks, businesses and governments must fight AI with AI, investing in machine-learning-driven threat detection, anomaly detection systems, and predictive analytics.”

“Clear policies on AI safety, responsible AI development, and cross-sector AI governance must be established to ensure that defensive capabilities keep pace with offensive innovations.”

With social engineering – where cyber criminals trick employees into clicking malicious links, transferring funds, or revealing credentials – accounting for 90 per cent of cyber breaches (along with system intrusion), AI is making these tactics increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect.

The Australian Cyber Summit 2025

Now in its third year, the Australian Cyber Summit 2025 will feature a jam-packed agenda to arm attendees with the tools needed to navigate the ever-evolving cyber security landscape.

Industry leaders will come together to discuss the future of cyber security in depth while providing attendees with real-world examples and insights.

The prestigious summit will take place on Tuesday, 29 April 2025, at Ilumina in Sydney. Click here to buy tickets.

All business professionals seeking to gain an understanding of the cyber security landscape are encouraged to attend.

For more information on the agenda, click here.

To see the full list of speakers, click here.

Click here to learn more about the Australian Cyber Summit.