What happened
On 26 October 2026, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) released its yearly Annual Cyber Threat Report, covering 2025–26. Its Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) received more than 82,000 cybercrime reports, about one every six minutes, and responded to more than 1,500 incidents, up 20% on the year before. Small businesses that reported a cybercrime lost $55,400 on average. ASD says artificial intelligence is helping criminals work faster and on a bigger scale, and it urges businesses to manage the risks that come from their suppliers.
The same week showed what that looks like. On 26 October, RMS, an Australian company whose booking software is used by hotels, holiday parks and serviced apartments, found someone had got into part of its systems. Guest names, contact details and booking details were accessed; RMS says card and payment details weren’t. Guests then started getting emails, texts and WhatsApp messages that quoted their real booking and asked them to “confirm” payment details or make a payment. Holiday park operators including BIG4 and Reflections warned their guests, and RMS has notified the ACSC and the privacy regulator.
Does it affect you?
If you’ve booked accommodation recently, a scam message could quote your genuine booking. If your business uses booking, accounting or other cloud software, the same thing could happen to your customers if that supplier is breached, even though your own computers were never touched.
The lesson goes beyond travel. A message that knows real details about you isn’t proof it’s genuine.
What we’re doing and what you can do
If you’re a managed client: if you or your staff get a payment or “booking failed” message you’re unsure about, forward it to us before doing anything and we’ll help you check it.
For everyone:
- Never pay or enter card details from a link in a message. Contact the business using a phone number or website you already know.
- If you’ve already shared card details, call your bank straight away. If you shared a password, change it and turn on multi-factor authentication.
- Know which suppliers hold your customers’ details, and have a plan to warn customers quickly if one is breached.
- Report scams to Scamwatch, and cyber incidents through ReportCyber or 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371).
Not sure whether a message is real? Call us on (1800) 30 22 32 or email helpdesk@alliance-net.com.au.
Sources
- Australian Cyber Security Centre: Annual Cyber Threat Report 2025-26 (26 October 2026)
- business.gov.au: Annual Cyber Threat Report 2025-26 outlines cyber threats facing Australian businesses (28 October 2026)
- RMS: Phishing messages referencing RMS booking details (27–30 October 2026)
- ABC News: Major holiday park operators warn guests about fraudulent emails, messages seeking credit card details (27 October 2026)
- 7NEWS: Australian travellers targeted in sophisticated hotel booking scam after RMS Cloud cyberattack