While our American cousins ​​still marvel at the wonders of touch-and-go in the same way Homo erectus marveled at the wonders of fire, Australians confidently use the payment system for about 80 percent of point-of-sale transactions. Checks are set to disappear, while hard cash is likely to be used for emergencies.

The RBA – which is one of the main drivers of the digital economy through its NPP – claims that the move to cashless payment will make the job of fighting money laundering and other financial crimes easier. That might save the country a few billion here and there, but it also makes it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

When we talk about cyber attacks, we usually end up with the Hollywood stereotype of hackers – black hoods, green scrolling text, gibberish, etc. But the average cyber attacker is no longer a kid working in a seedy internet cafe. They are military personnel with years of training and hundreds of millions of dollars in budgets at their disposal.

And while we have one of the best digital economies in the world, the digital and physical infrastructure that supports it isn't exactly top-notch.

Over three quarters of Australians bank with one of the big four. This means that the majority of Australia's money is held by four institutions with a rather pathetic track record in cyber security. Westpac and CBA's breaches of AML/CTF legislation have shown the world that Australian banks are not paying close attention to what is going on in their computer systems, and the RBA has also noted that the big four have systemic weaknesses created by the use of common third-party software. All of this combines to make them big, lucrative targets – and it's only a matter of time before someone decides they want a piece.

In 2016 North Korean hackers stole $100 million from Bangladesh's central bank. Other groups linked to North Korea siphoned $10 million from the Bank of Chile and $13.5 million from India's Cosmos Bank. These types of cyberattacks are actually relatively benign, driven by a profit motive; it is theorized that bank fraud of this kind actually accounts for a significant portion of North Korea's GDP.

But if a hostile state wanted to do real damage, it very easily could. For example: a coordinated attack on key utilities (electricity, water) and financial infrastructure where people cannot access their money. Any cyber attack against a predominantly digital economy is likely to be significantly more devastating than those that use more physical currency due to the simple fact that essential goods and services become unavailable. Of course, the value of the physical currency will likely be affected by a large-scale cyberattack, but it probably won't stop they exist.

If we are going to be a digital economy in the future, then our financial institutions need to raise their game. Systems already suffer from general outages; identity fraud is becoming more sophisticated; and the fact that so much of our economy is digital means that any attack is likely to have widespread ramifications.

At least part of the problem could be helped by creating a single, secure digital identity for Australian citizens. A single digital identity—created with the government and verified by a third party—would mean customers wouldn't have to maintain dozens of passwords for different accounts and accounts containing their financial information. However, it would also create a single point of failure that could be easier to exploit than a sophisticated cyber attack.

The Australian government and financial services also need to focus on responses and resilience – that is, how does the infrastructure on which the digital economy is built withstand a cyber attack and how does the government fight back? Cyber ​​attacks are inherently deniable, but creating a decisive response plan based on real-world consequences can prove to be an effective tool in preventing future attacks.

Australia is leading the world in advancements in the digital economy and this is one of the country's greatest achievements. But if more work isn't done to modernize and protect the infrastructure that supports this economy, we could see our best job turn into our worst nightmare.