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Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie has called for the adoption of multi-factor authentication as a means to bolster the country’s cyber defences.
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Australians have been urged to bolster proof of identity protections by implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) measures across devices, online accounts or programs.
According to Assistant Minister for Defence Andrew Hastie, MFA — a cyber security measure that requires two or more pieces of evidence to prove a person’s identity — is an effective way to set up safeguards to ward off attacks from cyber criminals.
“Where possible, we are encouraging people to use multi-factor authentication on your online programs and devices for greater protections against cyber crime and cyber criminals,” Assistant Minister Hastie said.
“Using multi-factor authentication makes it much harder for cybercriminals to gain access to your online data or personal information.
“Things that appear to be small or straightforward steps – like multi-factor authentication – can actually make a big difference to increasing Australia’s defences against cyber crime.”
The renewed push follows roundtable discussions between Assistant Minister Hastie and senior executives from Australia’s banking sector.
“We discussed the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s new multi-factor authentication campaign, which is providing rolling advice on common cyber security threats for organisations, businesses and individuals,” he added.
“We also discussed ways that industry can work with government to ensure more Australians have access to the best possible cyber security advice.”
Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), Abigail Bradshaw CSC, noted that the ACSC has published step-by-step guides to help Australians adopt MFA measures on a range of social media, email and message applications and devices.
“As part of the Australian government’s ongoing cyber security campaign, our easy-to-follow guides with screenshots are designed to help Australians protect themselves against cyber crime by setting up multi-factor authentication and making life much harder for the criminals,” Bradshaw said.
“Online security starts with your own device and accounts. Use multi-factor authentication for your important accounts, replace passwords with passphrases, and use different passphrases for different accounts.”
This latest call came just days after the federal government released a cyber security guide for SMEs across the defence industry.
The guide is designed to ensure businesses implement appropriate safeguards before engaging in defence projects.
[Related: Defence releases cyber security guide for SMEs]
Charbel Kadib
News Editor – Defence and Security, Momentum Media
Prior to joining the defence and aerospace team in 2020, Charbel was news editor of The Adviser and Mortgage Business, where he covered developments in the banking and financial services sector for three years. Charbel has a keen interest in geopolitics and international relations, graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in politics and journalism. Charbel has also completed internships with The Australian Department of Communications and the Arts and public relations agency Fifty Acres.
