Security professionals around the world have roundly opposed giving governments backdoor access to encrypted information systems and also voiced concerns about privacy being compromised to implement cyber security laws according to an ISACA survey.
The Cybersecurity Snapshot findings from January found that 63 per cent out of 2,920 IT professionals globally would oppose allowing backdoor access.
Seventy three per cent out of 75 Australian and New Zealand professionals surveyed would not allow government access. Meanwhile, 60 per cent of A/NZ respondents feel privacy is being compromised in an effort to implement stronger cyber security laws.
This week an open letter signed by more than 130 organisations called for governments to cease any efforts to undermine encryption.
Ninety five per cent of the Australian and New Zealand respondents in the ISACA survey said they favoured regulation that would force companies to disclose data breaches to customers within 30 days of their discovery. Globally the figure was 83 per cent globally.
The federal government last year released an exposure draft of a bill that would implement a mandatory breach notification scheme.
The ISACA survey also found that 72 per cent of US respondents were in favour of the US Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, which encourages cyberthreat information sharing between the government and the private sector. However, only 46 per cent believed their own organisation would do so voluntarily if it experiences a data breach.
“The snapshot shows that the professionals on the front lines of the cyber threat battle recognise the value of information-sharing among consumers, businesses and government, but also know the challenges associated with doing so,” said ISACA international president Christos Dimitriadis.
“Cyber security has become a high-stakes, boardroom-level issue that can have crippling consequences for any C-suite executive who lacks knowledge about the issues and risks. Strong public-private collaboration and ongoing knowledge-sharing are needed to safeguard our organisations from cybercriminals,” he said.