The invisible attack surface: Disinformation as the most pressing security threat

The ANU National Security College's landmark "No Worries?" report, released in March 2026 and drawing on surveys of more than 20,000 Australians, delivers a clear verdict: disinformation is a top security concern for Australians. 73% of respondents rated disinformation as a major or moderate threat, and 89% consider it more likely than not to occur as a threat to Australia within five years. Australians feel disinformation is a more serious threat over the next decade than a foreign military attack.

The public understands something that many organisations have been slow to act on: disinformation is no longer a political or media problem. It is a security problem - and it lands directly on your network, your workforce, and your operations.

This session delivers a practitioner-focused briefing on the current disinformation threat landscape: what's actually happening, who is running campaigns, what organisations are being targeted and why, and what concrete steps security teams can take right now.

Drawing on the latest research from Europe, Australia and the USA, the session maps the key campaigns active in 2025–26, from state-sponsored influence operations to commercially-motivated synthetic content targeting corporate reputations and AI-enabled narrative attacks.

Fewer than one in five Australians believe the nation is fully or very prepared for the disinformation threat. The same preparedness gap exists inside most organisations. This session is the briefing that closes the gap.