The state government is encouraging all Victorians to activate multi-factor authentication (MFA) on their devices to better protect themselves, their finances and their personal data from scammers and cyber criminals.
Government Services Minister Natalie Hutchins launched MFA on the Service Victoria platform this week and made the appeal to all Victorians to take up the security measure.
“Our message about multi-factor authentication is simple and clear – a strong password, combined with digital proof of identification, is the key to staying safe online,” Ms Hutchins said.
“Multi-factor authentication is an easy way to protect your most important online accounts, such as online banking, social media and government accounts – and we are asking all Victorians to take it up.”
Victorians lost more than $42 million to cyber scams last year with research showing only one in three Victorians used MFA to protect their online accounts.
Multi-factor authentication involves two steps designed to protect consumers and make it harder for anyone else to gain access to their accounts, even if they know the password.
Step one is having a strong, unique password to provide a base layer of security.
Step two is using a code sent to a phone or a fingerprint scan to confirm identity.
More information about MFA can be found at vic.gov.au/MFA.
