Australian IT leaders want more government intervention and information sharing to help them manage cybersecurity, according to new research from KnowBe4. As cyber-attacks and data breaches continue to rise, IT leaders across Australia are calling for government to provide more support and information sharing to help fight back against cyber criminals.
According to the research, four in five leaders (81% – up from 73% in 2024, 70% in 2022, and 68% in 2021) feel the government should be doing more to protect Australian businesses from cyber-attacks. This includes:
- Wanting more education and awareness to all Australians about cyber risks and how to stay safe online (59% – up from 48% in 2024, 43% in 2022, and 45% in 2021);
- Providing more training for Australian businesses on cyber risks (45% – up from 42% in 2024, 39% in 2022, and 38% in 2021); and
- More funding for Australian businesses for cyber protection (36% – up from 31% in 2024, 36% in 2022, and 36% in 2021).
Despite the calls for support, tech leaders continue to do their job. Half of Australian IT decision-makers believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to protect the organisation from cyber-attacks, but increasingly, more than one in three now believe it is the responsibility of the IT department (36% – up from 20% in 2024, 25% in 2022, and 31% in 2021).
Decreasingly, they believe that responsibility lies with the government (13% – down from 19% in 2024, 21% in 2022, and 18% in 2021) and employees specifically (9% – down from 12% in 2024, 15% in 2022, and 19% in 2021).
Consistent with 2024 results, more than one in four (27% – same as 27% in 2024, 27% in 2022, and 26% in 2021) say there is technology that should be protecting the organisation from cyberattacks.
IT leaders are also seeking increased information sharing from government. In an improvement on previous years, more than a third of leaders (36% – up from 33% in 2024, 44% in 2022, and 45% in 2021) say they are confident that they understand their organisation’s responsibilities regarding government reporting of cyber incidents/data breaches. However, over nine in ten (93%) continue to stress that sharing information and best practices about data breaches between organisations, businesses, law enforcement, and the government would benefit their organisation.
Around half of Australian IT decision-makers would like to see the government sharing knowledge and lessons learned from others’ experiences (52% – up from 41% in 2024), alongside support to increase overall awareness of cybersecurity issues among staff (51% – up from 43% in 2024), aiding in early detection of potential threats and vulnerabilities (47% – up from 43% in 2024), and contributing to better risk mitigation strategies and practices (45% – up from 39% in 2024).
Meanwhile, over a third believe improving incident response capabilities and reducing response time (37% – up from 30% in 2024), facilitating collaboration with government agencies and law enforcement (37% – up from 31% in 2024), providing benchmarks for industry cybersecurity standards and practices (36% – up from 29% in 2024), and fostering collaborative defence strategies with other organisations (35% – up from 26% in 2024) would benefit them.
Furthermore, around three in ten would like assistance in meeting regulatory compliance requirements more effectively (30% – similar to 29% in 2024), minimising the financial impact of potential data breaches (30% – down from 36% in 2024), and allowing access to anonymised incident data for analysis without revealing specific organisational details (28% – up from 23% in 2024).
“There is a clear acknowledgement from IT leaders around public and internal responsibility when it comes to managing cyber threats, but it is clear they don’t have the capabilities to protect their organisations at the level required,” said KnowBe4 Security Awareness Advocate Martin Kraemer. “IT leaders are not trying to point the finger at government but they are struggling to keep up and want to know that higher powers are available to back them up more holistically through collaboration, sharing of information, and public education.”
