According to recent data, hackers are increasingly focusing on businesses in non-critical industries like retail and construction in Australia and New Zealand This article explores repercussions lack cybersecurity. . Cyble's "Threat Landscape Report 2024" for Australia and New Zealand concentrated on the threat to sectors that are essential to the operation of contemporary society, such as government, healthcare, and finance.

These are the industries that typically rank highest on cybersecurity year-in-review lists because they are the most important to state-level attackers and have the most money available to cybercriminals. The data from 2025 presents a different picture. Last year, Oceania's most attacked industries were more like Main Street businesses: retail, construction, and professional services.

In 2025, the second-most targeted industry in the Southeast world with lockers was healthcare. However, professional services firms were at the top of the list. In 2025, a number of well-known ransomware groups, including Inc Ransomware and BianLian, targeted service businesses, especially accounting and legal firms.

Related: Enhancing Cyber Defense Through Agentic AI Highly sensitive personally identifying information (PII) is managed by accounting and legal firms, and losing it could result in serious legal and regulatory repercussions. However, they lack the cybersecurity staff and resources of larger companies, which makes them more vulnerable to low- and mid-level attackers who don't have the time or patience to compromise power plants or hospitals.