Cybercrime in Australia has been on the rise for years, but Optus and Medibank have been wake-up calls

Experts say the recent prominence of data breaches is just companies being more forthcoming and the media more focused on reporting them

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

It might seem like data breaches are occurring more frequently than ever in the wake of the Optus cyber-attack, but while cybercrime incidents are constantly on the rise, Australia isn't really a hot new target.

Since Optus first disclosed its massive data breach at the end of September, breaches or attacks have been reported by Medibank, Woolworths' MyDeal, EnergyAustralia, Vinomofo and Medlab.

Sign up for our free morning and afternoon email newsletters from Guardian Australia for your daily news roundup