Cyber attacks were the most common form of hybrid threat faced by Australia in the last decade, but economic coercion and foreign interference are not far behind.
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Analysts at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute have been tracking hybrid threats against Australia since March 2016, and between then and February 2025 have tracked 74 discrete activities targeting the country.
Given the growing state of digital connectivity across the globe, cyber security incidents and attacks make up approximately 35 per cent of all hybrid activity. Both private and public sector companies have been targeted by largely PRC-backed hackers, such as Naikon, APT40, APT27 and Aoqin Dragon, as well as critical infrastructure entities.
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“The ASPI research into hybrid threats underscores a key trend observation that we have always expected would occur: nation-state aligned threat actors are prioritising cyber security as the foremost battleground in today’s modern, digital world. Whether it is cyber-espionage or targeting critical infrastructure for sabotage, this type of conflict is no longer relegated to complex stories found in television and movies,” Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at Tenable, told Defence Connect.
Economic coercion, foreign interference, and narrative & disinformation campaigns all make up about 20-25 per cent each targeted activity, and here again, China is highly active. China is thought to have engaged in efforts to sway debate toward far-right sources during the Voice to Parliament campaign, and its extensive Spamouflage network of fake social media accounts targeted an Australian rare earth mining company in recent years as well.
Journalists and members of the Chinese diaspora in Australia have also been targeted by Chinese influence and harassment campaigns.
China’s efforts to impact the Australian economy include tariffs and bans on Australian produce, trade restrictions, and even consumer boycotts
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“Economic coercion involves actions that go beyond standard trade policy [such as tariffs], including: engaging in targeted boycotts; blocking access to essential resources; and imposing sanctions with the explicit goal of forcing political concessions.”
Military and paramilitary coercion only makes up about 15 per cent of hybrid activity, but as ASPI notes, such activity has increased in the last few years, and, again, China is the main culprit. Only recently, we have had the example of a Chinese naval flotilla performing firing drills in the Tasman Sea and aerial encounters between Chinese and Australian military aircraft in the South China Sea – all just in February 2025 alone.
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Of course, while China is responsible for the bulk of hybrid activity targeting Australia, it is not alone. China is responsible for 69 per cent of such activity, with Russia the next most active nation at 11 per cent of activity, trailed closely by Iran, which makes up fully ten per cent of hybrid threat activity.
Other nations make up four per cent of activity, unidentified hackers responsible for five per cent of threat activity, and ideologically motivated violent extremism is one per cent.
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