Australia is at risk of cyberattacks, warns outgoing Telstra CEO Andy Penn.

The "greatest lever" Australia can use to resist cyberattacks has been identified by outgoing Telstra CEO Andy Penn.

The best way to stop ransomware and other digital attacks, according to Mr. Penn, who chairs the committee for the cyber industry that advises the federal government, is to educate people about them.

We won't ever be able to catch everything, he said on Tuesday at the National Press Club in Canberra.

In the context of the overall scope of this approach, community awareness is the one area that we do point out as one where we believe the government could invest more.

The government should take a firmer stance against ransomware and other forms of malware, Mr. Penn warned
last year as the number and severity of cyberattacks rise.

He stated on Tuesday that in order to combat cyberattacks, the federal government must adopt a comprehensive strategy that includes strengthening its defenses.

If you wanted to rob a bank 100 years ago, Mr. Penn remarked, "you would come down the high street, knock on the door, and the money would be in the safe at the rear."

"Unfortunately, you can now rob a bank from anywhere in the world, and that's sort of what's occurring and that's the challenge," he said.

Mr. Penn endorsed Clare O'Neil, Australia's new minister of home affairs and cyber security, in her efforts to restructure the country's cyber security program.

The 2020 approach, on which Mr. Penn counseled the then-Morrison administration, will be revised by Ms. O'Neil.

According to Mr. Penn, there has been a "substantial increase" in cyber risks as a result of the interaction between technology development and a more fractious geopolitical climate.

Make no mistake: bad actors and cybercriminals actively pursue Australia, according to Mr. Penn.

"The simple line is that the digital platforms and infrastructure on which we rely are at most risk at a time when we've become more dependent than ever on doing things digitally and that dynamic is only going to increase,"

According to Mr. Penn, Telstra has intercepted more than 1 million fraudulent emails and 200 million scam calls in the last 12 months.

More than 1500 fraudulent SMS messages are being blocked by the telecom behemoth per minute.