MITRE ATT&CK & ESSENTIAL EIGHT ALIGNMENT

Aligning MITRE ATT&CK with the Essential Eight  helps organisations move from generic security activity to targeted risk reduction. MITRE ATT&CK shows how attackers gain access, escalate privileges, and exfiltrate data, while the Essential Eight provides the controls that can directly interrupt those steps. When both are used together, teams can prioritise the most effective actions, measure control coverage against real-world techniques, and reduce the likelihood that common attack paths succeed.

February 2026 continues a clear trend, attackers are succeeding not through new tactics, but through repeatable weaknesses, unpatched systems, compromised credentials, and unclear governance over emerging technologies.

As organisations return to full operational pace after the holiday period, threat activity is shifting from opportunistic attacks to more sustained, scalable intrusion attempts designed to maintain access and expand impact.

Risk Heat Map

The Risk Heat Map highlights the most significant cyber threats for the past month by rating each one by likelihood, impact, and overall risk. The past month's risks are driven by identity exposure and remediation delays. Organisations with weak Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), inconsistent privilege control, or unclear AI governance remain highly vulnerable to fast-moving compromise.

Complex Indicators to Watch For

Unpatched Endpoints and Delayed Remediation (🔴 Critical)

A system gets hit with an exploit attempt, then immediately starts running unusual commands (like PowerShell or command prompt).

• A normal user account suddenly gains admin rights, then connects to many other systems soon after.
• A remote access login is followed by new scheduled tasks, new services, or new admin accounts.
• One device starts making lots of Active Directory lookups, then begins logging into servers it doesn’t normally access.
• A vulnerable system that is missing a critical patch suddenly shows repeated scanning or exploit traffic.
• A new “persistence” method appears after access, such as startup tasks or remote management tools installed quietly.

High-confidence pattern: Unpatched system + exploit alert + new admin activity + rapid movement to other devices.

Credential Compromise and Account Takeover (🔴 Critical)

• Many users get login failures from the same source, spread out slowly to avoid lockouts.
• An account has repeated failed logins, then one successful login, followed by immediate changes to mailbox or security settings.
• A login looks valid, but it skips expected MFA steps, then the user’s mailbox or files are accessed heavily.
• A new app, OAuth permission, or cloud integration appears shortly after a login.
• A user logs in from a new device, then quickly accesses payroll, finance, HR, or admin tools.
• New inbox rules appear that hide messages containing words like “invoice”, “payment”, “bank”, or “urgent”.

High-confidence pattern: Unusual login + new inbox rule + bulk file/email access within a short time window.

AI Tool Misuse and Uncontrolled Data Exposure (🟠 High)

• A user downloads sensitive files, then uploads data to external AI tools soon after.
• DLP blocks uploads several times, then the user switches to a different service and succeeds.
• A new AI browser extension is installed, followed by heavy clipboard or page-copy activity.
• Large copy/paste activity moves from internal documents into browser sessions.
• Files are zipped or renamed first, then uploaded to personal cloud storage or unknown platforms.
• AI tools are connected directly to internal SaaS systems through integrations, creating ongoing access risk.
• Small data uploads happen often over time, instead of one big upload. This can be harder to spot.

High-confidence pattern: Sensitive file access + archive creation + upload to an unapproved web service.

Australian-Themed Phishing and Impersonation (🟠 High)

• A user clicks a link, then a new login happens minutes later, followed by mailbox searching or exporting.
• A compromised user account starts sending internal phishing emails to staff or finance teams.
• Sender names look legitimate, but the reply-to address or domain does not match.
• Inbox rules are created to hide security warnings or divert replies away from the real user.
• An attachment is opened, then scripts run on the device or suspicious files appear in temp folders.
• An attacker replies inside an existing email thread after taking over a mailbox. This increases trust.
• One campaign targets different teams at different times of day to increase success rates.

High-confidence pattern: Phishing click + new login + mailbox rule created + finance emails sent shortly after.

Cross-Threat “High Severity” Indicators

These patterns often mean an attack is already underway:

• A real user account suddenly behaves like an attacker.
• Admin privileges appear without approval.
• Security tools or backups are tampered with.
• Several systems show lateral movement within minutes or hours.
• Files are staged (zipped/encrypted) before being sent out.
• Phishing leads to account takeover, then internal impersonation.

Cybersecurity is no longer just an internal responsibility. It is a shared defence across industries, communities, and critical services. When organisations improve patching discipline, strengthen identity controls, and govern emerging technologies, they do more than reduce their own risk. They help disrupt the same attack patterns being used across Australia. Sharing threat insights and aligning action to proven frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and the Essential Eight strengthens collective resilience and makes it harder for attackers to scale their impact from one target to the next. If you found this update useful, please like and share our newsletter on LinkedIn to help more Australian organisations stay informed and better protected.