AI presents fresh cybersecurity challenges for Australians

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been identified as Australians’ downfall when it comes to cybersecurity and online privacy awareness, leaving them to drop several ranks in NordVPN’s annual National Privacy Test (NPT).

Australia now ranks fifth out of 186 countries according to the new research, with the four-rank drop from last year’s first place largely attributed to lagging understanding and awareness of the privacy issues related to using AI for work (six per cent).

Only 15 per cent of Australians knew how to secure their home Wi‑Fi network, 16 per cent knew what data internet service providers (ISPs) gather as metadata, 18 per cent knew where to store passwords safely and 31 per cent know of online tools that help protect digital privacy.

Compared to last year’s report, Australians’ understanding of the importance of reading terms of service of apps and online services fell by nine per cent (to 33 per cent) and their knowledge of where to store passwords safely and how to protect their home Wi-Fi network both dropped by five per cent (to 18 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively).

However, the survey results that formed the basis of this year’s NPT still showed how Australians excelled in creating strong passwords (97 per cent), dealing with suspicious streaming service offers and knowing which data to share with their apps via app permissions (95 per cent), understanding how devices might get infected with malware (93 per cent), and knowing the risks of saving credit card details on their browser (92 per cent).

“AI has raised the stakes online, but the fundamentals of staying safe haven’t changed. People are getting better at spotting scams, yet too many still skip updates or reuse passwords, and those small gaps are exactly what criminals exploit,” Marijus Briedis, Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN, said.

“The test aims to educate people worldwide about cyber threats and offer clear, practical guidance to reduce the risks of fraud, data harvesting, surveillance, and other online threats.”

The test results come as the Australian financial services industry continues to grapple with improved cybersecurity requirements designed to properly manage associated cyber risks through approved and secure systems and frameworks, with recent legal action initiated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) against financial planning licensee Fortnum Private Wealth for related failures.

1. Lithuania
2. Singapore and India
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