Australia and India are in early discussions to establish a dedicated bilateral treaty for real-time data-sharing in the fight against cybercrime, as both nations confront a surge in state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting essential infrastructure.
Brendan Dowling, Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technologies, confirmed the two governments are exploring ways to improve cooperation beyond the traditional mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) framework, which he described as too slow to meet the demands of modern cyber threats.
“The current MLAT process is not smooth and impedes our ability to cooperate,” Dowling said. “There have been conversations between India and Australia to set up a bilateral cybersecurity-driven data sharing agreement.
"Conceptually, both countries agree upon the need for it—what hasn’t happened is a framework to make this happen, though the intent is there.”
This initiative gains urgency as Australia faces an escalating cyber threat landscape. The Australian Signals Directorate's (ASD) Annual Cyber Threat Report for 2023–24 revealed over 87,400 cybercrime reports, averaging one every six minutes.
Notably, 11% of the 1,100 cybersecurity incidents ASD responded to were related to critical infrastructure sectors such as electricity, gas, water, education, and transport
Need for faster cooperation
The discussions come amid a rising number of cyberattacks believed to be orchestrated by state-backed actors in countries such as North Korea, Russia, and China.
These intrusions have increasingly targeted sectors including energy, health and financial services, with growing implications for national security and economic resilience.
Australia has previously called out nation-state actors for disruptive behaviour in cyberspace, and officials now argue that traditional mechanisms such as MLATs are too cumbersome to address time-sensitive threats.
“There is interest on both sides to find ways for it,” Dowling said. “Both governments are interested in sharing more information in real time, collaborating closely with specifically assigned points of contact, and so on.”
Legal and institutional reform
While any formal agreement remains in development, legal experts believe that such a treaty would be compatible with both countries’ data protection regimes.
Dowling also highlighted the role of regional groupings such as the Quad – comprising Australia, India, Japan and the United States – in fostering cybersecurity dialogue and cooperation.
However, he stressed that bilateral mechanisms would provide the responsiveness needed to address immediate threats.
“There is a Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) for Asia Pacific through which some information sharing does happen,” he said. “But that is very broad-ranged—bilaterally, India and Australia will be speaking with each other to improve this aspect.”
The proposed treaty represents a strategic effort to enhance Australia's cyber resilience through strengthened international partnerships, addressing the growing challenges posed by sophisticated cyber threats.