ASIC demands urgent cyber uplift as frontier AI raises the threat level
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ASIC demands urgent cyber uplift as frontier AI raises the threat level

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant has issued an [open letter to AFS licensees, market participants and their directors](https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-092mr-asic-calls-for-urgent-cyber-uplift-as-ai-accelerates-cyber-threats/) calling for an urgent cyber uplift. The trigger is frontier AI: "Cyber risk has entered a new era. The advent of frontier AI models creates opportunity, but also materially increases risk." The language is unusually direct for a regulator: "The clock is at a minute to midnight. If you aren't on top of your cyber resilience already, the time to act and prepare is right now." The letter sets out a 12-point action list covering cyber plan reassessment, critical asset protection, patching, access privileges, third-party risk and using AI defensively, plus four board governance expectations. It is principles-based and model-agnostic, and it frames cyber resilience as a core licensing obligation rather than an IT issue. The operational detail to act on first: ASIC instructs that the letter itself be tabled and discussed at the ultimate board and risk governance committees. If it is not on your next agenda, that is the gap.

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