Six Minutes Between Cyberattacks: The New Reality The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received a cybercrime report once every six minutes from 2024 25. That's almost 85,000 reports. Yet the idea "it will never happen to us" remains prevalent across the logistics sector. Many readers will remember in November 2023 when four of Australia's largest container ports went quiet. Trucks queuing at the gates and 30,000 containers stranded on the docks – many full of perishable items. The attack on DP World Australia resulted in three days of complete operational shutdown, and another week of backlog clearing. It has become one of the most notorious attacks of recent years. Do not let the next one be you. Logistics companies are an attractive target: a sprawling network of employees and third parties, older operational technology talking to modern IT systems, and a just-in-time delivery model where a breach of one vulnerable component can grind everything to a halt. It's no surprise that emerging ransomware groups like Coinbase Cartel are specifically targeting logistics companies – claiming the DSV, Kuehne + Nagel, and CEVA Logistics attacks in the last year alone. The threat is also political. Escalating global tensions have placed targets on critical infrastructure like transport and logistics. The ongoing conflict around the Strait of Hormuz saw more than 1,100 commercial vessels targeted across the region in just 24 hours via GPS jamming and spoofing, helping to bring one of the world's busiest oil routes to a near-standstill. The consequences of a data breach are becoming more severe. The ACSC reports that the average cost per incident jumped 50% to A$80,850 last year. For large businesses, costs rose by a staggering 219%, to A$202,700. Much of this is due to long recovery times. Following the cyberattack at Asahi, it took two months just to contain the data breach, with a 5-month plan to fully restore logistics operations. The breach exposed the personal data of 1.5 million customers, over 100,000 employees and their families, and over 100,000 external contacts who had previously received condolence telegrams from the company. That is the kind of incident that makes headlines and drives reputational damage that can extend recovery times to years. PwC's 2026 Global Digital Trust Insights survey found 60% of executives now rank cyber risk among their top three strategic priorities, with geopolitical uncertainty cited as the main driver. This is good news: business leaders are realising that trying to avoid being targeted is not a strategy. It is a disaster waiting to happen. So, what does a good cybersecurity strategy look like in 2026? An honest asset assessment. An inventory of every system, every supplier, and every connection that interacts with your business. You cannot protect what you don't know you have. Vet your third-party providers. Verizon's 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that the share of breaches involving third parties doubled in a single year. So even if your own house is in order, a poorly secured freight broker, customs broker, or IT contractor can offer a back door. Your suppliers must be held to the same cybersecurity standards that you hold your own company to. Prioritise your risks. Think about what would really harm your operations if it were to go down. Put your time and resources into remediating these issues first. Continuously monitor. Modern cyber threats are being defined by the shrinking window between a vulnerability discovery and an attacker exploiting it. So-called zero-day exploits happen in hours, rather than days or weeks: long before any fix is available. Annual or quarterly security audits are no longer enough: if you're not continuously monitoring, you are falling behind. This is where AI integration is genuinely helping businesses keep up. AI can handle large, complex data, and unlike humans it won't get tired of searching for vulnerabilities after a long shift. AI powered security operations centres (SOCs) have made asset discovery, vulnerability assessment, and continuous threat monitoring accessible to small and medium sized businesses, not just multinational corporations.   It is essential, however, to acknowledge the limits of AI. It cannot replace a cybersecurity specialist: someone who can see end-to end, understands unique business needs, and recognises the bigger picture. The companies that come out ahead will be those that combine AI, automation, and skilled humans, rather than betting on any one of them in isolation. At Cyber Citadel we built Citadel53 for exactly this. Citadel53 is a security management platform providing a single pane-of-glass view of your security posture, powered by Microsoft tools including Defender and Intune. Citadel53 brings asset discovery, vulnerability analysis, prioritised recommendations, and incident response under one roof. It scores your cybersecurity posture against the ASD Essential Eight maturity model framework, with automated, readable reports generated in one click. To discuss your risks, get free advice from real specialists, and access a no-obligation review of your third-party security, reach out to Cyber Citadel via cybercitadel.com or sales@cybercitadel.com. In 2026, cybersecurity is no longer a technical function. It is a core operating requirement that decides whether your goods move, your customers stay, and your reputation survives. The risk is real, and the next six minutes are up to you. The above article was submitted by Jonathan Sharrock - CEO, Cyber Citadel

John Park -  Head of Business Operations - FTA / APSA

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