Internet Australia is deeply concerned to note the Australian government’s request to Facebook to halt plans to introduce strong end-to-end encryption in its messaging systems, in an open letter signed by the Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Hon Peter Dutton, along with his counterparts from the USA and the UK .
It is ironic that this entreaty for Facebook to NOT improve the security and confidentiality of its online messaging platform is made in StaySmartOnline Week, on the same day the Government’s own cyber security centre revealed Australians are reporting cybercrimes every 10 minutes. These are just some of the very cyber crimes that encryption of messages is designed to thwart, by ensuring information is kept confidential from eavesdropping criminals seeking personal data that can be used to impersonate another trusted party.