The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Australian Securities and Investments Commission have published findings from joint industry roundtables and a preparedness checklist calling on financial entities to turn awareness of frontier artificial intelligence risks into tested governance, operational resilience and incident response. Boards and executives are expected to establish risk appetite, escalation authority, recovery priorities and communication strategies before incidents occur, as AI-enabled threats compress response timeframes and increase the speed, scale and complexity of disruption. The findings draw on nine roundtables involving more than 600 attendees from over 380 entities. Priorities include maintaining effective cyber fundamentals, testing backup and recovery arrangements, strengthening identity and access controls, promptly remediating vulnerabilities and mapping critical third-party dependencies. Defensive AI may support threat intelligence, vulnerability detection and incident response, but remains limited and does not replace core controls. Entities should also address concentration risks that could amplify provider failures across the financial system and participate in industry collaboration on threat intelligence, supplier assurance and incident coordination.
2026-08-27Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Australian Securities and Investments Commission urge tested resilience against frontier AI threats
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Australian Securities and Investments Commission are urging financial entities to convert awareness of frontier AI risks into tested governance, cyber controls and recovery arrangements. Boards should make key escalation and recovery decisions before incidents occur, while entities strengthen cyber fundamentals, manage shared provider dependencies and support industry-wide coordination.