THREAT PERSPECTIVE 

Hacktivism connected to broader geopolitical tension is creating operational risk for Australian industrial organizations. This cyber threat intelligence report focuses on the OT-relevant behaviors and exposures driving that risk: discovery of internet-facing assets, disruptive activity against public-facing services, weak account hygiene and vendor access, and low-complexity attempts to pivot toward ICS. We pair observations with concrete actions aligned to the 5 Critical Controls so teams can reduce exposure, detect earlier, and shorten time-to-safe operations. 

Highlights from the report: 

• Tempo & clustering: Short bursts of claims and nuisance operations involving Australian entities, often coinciding with widely publicized international events. 

• Claims vs. impact: More personas publicly claim OT/ICS effects; only a limited subset shows verifiable operational impact to date. 

• Common TTPs: Discovery of internet-exposed HMIs/engineering tools, credential reuse against remote access, DDoS on customer/ops portals, and data-leak pressure. 

• OT adjacency: Disruption to public-facing and business systems can spill into operations where remote access and vendor connectivity aren’t tightly governed. 

• Sectors in focus: Energy, Water, Ports/Transport, Mining, and Oil & Gas show recurring exposure patterns and operational friction risks. 

What you’ll learn inside: 

A concise view of hacktivism behaviors affecting Australian OT - claims, TTPs, and Australian context trends - mapped to concrete actions aligned to the 5 Critical Controls, plus sector-specific considerations for Energy, Water, Ports/Transport, Mining, and Oil & Gas.