More than 30 Australian universities have been targeted in cyber attacks, in an attempt to steal intellectual property and academic research.

At the opening of the new Australian Cyber Security Centre today, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the attackers were an Iran-based spear fishing campaign.

Hospitals, bank balances and personal data have also been targeted by overseas agencies.

There have been 14,000 incidents since 2016, costing businesses $7 billion a year.

Turnbull said the attacks focus on vulnerable members of the community.

“Billions of cyber events orchestrated by criminal, and indeed, nation state actors, are aiming at the very heart of the Australian government, business, and our public life,” he said.

“Criminal networks and malicious foreign actors are using increasingly sophisticated technology to steal our intellectual property and interfere with our institutions.”