AI accelerating cyber threats, making regional cooperation crucial: Australian minister

Australian Assistant Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Matt Thistlethwaite tells CNA's Paul Sng that countries must work together to counter increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks and transnational cybercrime.

Australia's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite said AI has enabled cyberattacks that once required weeks of coding to be carried out in seconds or minutes. (Photo: iStock)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: Artificial intelligence is allowing cybercriminals to launch attacks faster and on a larger scale, making cooperation to combat cybercrime and protect critical infrastructure increasingly important, said Australia's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite.

Mr Thistlethwaite, who attended Singapore International Cyber Week, told CNA on Wednesday (Oct 14) that he believed governments were keeping pace with the growing threats.

"We know what the challenge is, and we know what the threats are. What artificial intelligence has done has sped up the threat and the scale of it," said Mr Thistlethwaite, who is also Australia's assistant minister for immigration.

He said cyberattacks that previously required weeks of coding can now be carried out in seconds or minutes using AI.

The challenge for governments is to use the same technology to counter these threats, he added.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less

PROTECTING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Mr Thistlethwaite said AI is making it easier for cybercriminals to breach networks, raising concerns about the protection of critical infrastructure, including power supplies, hospitals and transport systems.

"When you talked about cyber threats four or five years ago, it was basically human-based threats. Now we're talking about artificial intelligence-based systems that are speeding up the threat actors' ability to crack into systems and to threaten networks," he said.

In response to the evolving risks, the Australian government established an Office of AI in July to oversee the implementation of proposed national AI standards, including requirements for large data centres.

Separately, Australia has existing laws requiring operators of certain critical infrastructure assets to take additional cybersecurity measures, Mr Thistlethwaite noted.

These include requirements for certain operators to report cyber incidents, manage security risks and provide information about critical infrastructure assets.

AUSTRALIA-SINGAPORE CYBER COOPERATION

Mr Thistlethwaite also highlighted Australia's close cybersecurity cooperation with Singapore.

The two countries renewed their cybersecurity cooperation agreement earlier this year, with plans to strengthen information sharing, joint exercises, training and regional capacity building.

He said both countries are working to strengthen their ability to combat cybercrime, with Australia keen to support Singapore as it prepares to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2027.

Cybercrime and AI are expected to feature prominently on Singapore's agenda during its chairmanship, he said, adding that Australia wants to contribute to regional efforts to tackle these issues.

"We want to assist Singapore in providing that capacity uplift and that cooperation," he added.

Australia is also investing A$83.5 million (US$58.5 million) over four years, from 2024 to 2028, to strengthen cybersecurity capabilities across the Indo-Pacific.

The funding is part of its Southeast Asia and Pacific Cyber Program, which supports regional efforts to prepare for and respond to cyber incidents, improve cybersecurity training and develop policies and regulations.

Mr Thistlethwaite said the success of these investments would be measured by improvements in cybersecurity capabilities across the region.

He added that Australia is particularly focused on helping Pacific nations equip their public servants with the training, expertise and technology needed to respond to cyber threats.

TACKLING SOUTHEAST ASIA'S SCAM CENTRES

Mr Thistlethwaite also expressed concern about the threat posed by scam centres in Southeast Asia, where trafficked individuals are forced to carry out online fraud.

"We've seen the prevalence of scam centres being set up, people being trafficked to operate those scam centres, and very serious transnational crime being undertaken," he said.

He cited Operation Firestorm, an Australian Federal Police initiative launched in August 2024 to disrupt transnational scam networks, as an example of regional cooperation against such crimes.

Mr Thistlethwaite said Australian and Thai authorities had shared intelligence to bust a scam centre operation in Thailand.

"There were unfortunately hundreds of individuals who'd been trafficked into a remote region and were being exploited," he added.

AUSTRALIA EYES UN CYBERCRIME TREATY RATIFICATION IN 2027

Australia is also working towards ratifying the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime in the first half of 2027, Mr Thistlethwaite said.

The country signed the convention in Hanoi in October 2025 . The treaty aims to strengthen international cooperation in combating cybercrime and sharing electronic evidence for serious criminal offences.

Mr Thistlethwaite said Australia had also pushed for provisions in the convention to protect children from exploitation through technology.

"We're going through the process of ratification through our domestic processes at the moment, and we should be in a position to formally ratify the convention in the first half of next year," he added.

Beyond government cooperation, Mr Thistlethwaite said working with AI developers and technology companies would also be essential to counter cyber threats.

"We're talking about training the tech to defeat the tech and make sure that systems and operations, and indeed people's personal and private information, remain safe."

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

澳大利亚外交贸易部助理部长马特·蒂斯尔斯韦特告诉CNA的保罗·斯恩，各国必须共同努力，应对日益复杂的网络攻击和跨国网络犯罪。

澳大利亚外交贸易部助理部长马特·蒂斯尔斯韦特表示，人工智能使得过去需要数周编码才能完成的网络攻击，现在只需几秒钟或几分钟即可完成。（图片：iStock）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：澳大利亚外交贸易部助理部长马特·蒂斯尔斯韦特表示，人工智能使网络犯罪分子能够更快、更大规模地发起攻击，因此，合作打击网络犯罪和保护关键基础设施变得越来越重要。

出席新加坡国际网络安全周的蒂斯尔斯韦特先生周三（10 月 14 日）告诉亚洲新闻台，他认为各国政府正在跟上日益增长的威胁的步伐。

“我们知道挑战是什么，也知道威胁是什么。人工智能的出现加速了威胁的到来，并扩大了威胁的规模，”西斯尔斯韦特先生说道，他同时也是澳大利亚移民事务助理部长。

他表示，以前需要数周时间编写代码才能完成的网络攻击，现在利用人工智能可以在几秒钟或几分钟内完成。

他补充说，各国政府面临的挑战是如何利用同样的技术来应对这些威胁。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小谜题，挑战你的大脑 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少

保护关键基础设施

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生表示，人工智能使网络犯罪分子更容易入侵网络，引发了人们对关键基础设施（包括电力供应、医院和交通系统）保护的担忧。

他说：“四五年前谈到网络威胁时，基本上是指人为因素造成的威胁。而现在我们谈论的是基于人工智能的系统，这些系统正在加快威胁行为者入侵系统和威胁网络的速度。”

为了应对不断变化的风险，澳大利亚政府于 7 月成立了人工智能办公室，负责监督拟议的国家人工智能标准的实施，包括对大型数据中心的要求。

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生指出，澳大利亚现有的法律要求某些关键基础设施资产的运营商采取额外的网络安全措施。

这些要求包括要求某些运营商报告网络安全事件、管理安全风险以及提供有关关键基础设施资产的信息。

澳大利亚-新加坡网络合作

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生还强调了澳大利亚与新加坡在网络安全方面的密切合作。

今年早些时候，两国续签了网络安全合作协议，计划加强信息共享、联合演习、培训和区域能力建设。

他表示，两国正在努力加强打击网络犯罪的能力，澳大利亚热切希望支持新加坡在2027年担任东南亚国家联盟（东盟）轮值主席国。

他表示，网络犯罪和人工智能预计将成为新加坡担任主席国期间的重要议题，并补充说，澳大利亚希望为解决这些问题的区域努力做出贡献。

“我们希望协助新加坡提升能力并开展合作，”他补充道。

澳大利亚还将在 2024 年至 2028 年的四年间投资 8350 万澳元（5850 万美元），以加强整个印太地区的网络安全能力。

该笔资金是其东南亚和太平洋网络安全计划的一部分，该计划旨在支持该地区为应对网络事件做好准备和响应、改进网络安全培训以及制定政策和法规所做的努力。

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生表示，这些投资的成功与否将通过该地区网络安全能力的提升来衡量。

他还补充说，澳大利亚尤其注重帮助太平洋岛国为其公务员提供应对网络威胁所需的培训、专业知识和技术。

打击东南亚诈骗中心

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生还对东南亚的诈骗中心构成的威胁表示担忧，这些中心强迫被贩运者进行网络诈骗。

他说：“我们看到诈骗中心层出不穷，有人被贩卖来运营这些诈骗中心，而且还有非常严重的跨国犯罪活动发生。”

他以澳大利亚联邦警察于 2024 年 8 月发起的“风暴行动”为例，说明区域合作打击此类犯罪的必要性。“风暴行动”旨在打击跨国诈骗网络。

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生表示，澳大利亚和泰国当局共享情报，捣毁了泰国的一个诈骗中心。

“不幸的是，有数百人被贩卖到偏远地区，并遭到剥削，”他补充道。

澳大利亚计划在2027年批准联合国网络犯罪条约

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生表示，澳大利亚也在努力争取在 2027 年上半年批准《联合国打击网络犯罪公约》。

该国于2025年10月在河内签署了该公约。该条约旨在加强打击网络犯罪和共享严重刑事犯罪电子证据方面的国际合作。

蒂斯尔斯韦特先生表示，澳大利亚也曾推动在公约中加入条款，以保护儿童免受科技剥削。

“我们目前正在通过国内程序进行批准程序，我们应该能够在明年上半年正式批准该公约，”他补充道。

西斯尔斯韦特先生表示，除了政府合作之外，与人工智能开发者和科技公司合作对于应对网络威胁也至关重要。

“我们讨论的是如何训练技术人员来对抗技术人员，并确保系统和运营，以及人们的个人和隐私信息保持安全。”

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。