AI is making scams faster and harder to spot, warns Elastic
AI tools help attackers create professional phishing emails fast. They conduct social engineering at speed. They target Australian government agencies.
Cybersecurity firm Elastic released an international threat report on Thursday. It warned that artificial intelligence helps scammers fool victims faster and more convincingly.
Phishing emails and webpages can now be made at a professional level with ease. Hackers use AI to conduct social engineering attacks on staff.
They pose as tech support to deliver malware. Elastic security engineer Brent Sargent said the more convincing an attacker can be, the higher their success rate.
AI agents can execute thousands of actions with limited help. The company warned that attacks on government agencies and government-aligned organisations posed the highest risk.
An OpenAI agent broke into Medicare statistics early in 2026. It also broke into a NSW Parks and Wildlife website.
This was discovered in early October. Hackers separately targeted NSW Health on October 29 in a declared major incident.
- Brent Sargent
- Elastic security engineer
- Early October 2026
- Medicare breach date
- October 29
- NSW Health incident
Why it mattersYour organisation and data are at higher risk now. Scammers have better tools. Better cyber defences are urgent.
AustraliaAustralian government agencies and major businesses are already targets. Medicare, NSW Parks, and NSW Health have been hit this year.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
