The White House has launched the Lock Down Your Login awareness campaign to focus on strong authentication technologies that are available online as part of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan.
Seventy-two percent of Americans believe their accounts are secure with just a username and password, according to the White House.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA) is heading the public and private collaboration to enable people to secure their online accounts. Technologies such as fingerprint authorization or one-time codes for online accounts could have prevented about 62 percent of data breaches last year, according to the White House.
The campaign is promoting cyber awareness by using the NCSA’s logo alongside its own, encouraging consumers to use strong authentication technology, and using the spokespersons of campaign partners to generate knowledge.
Facebook is conducting a media tour to talk about security tools that keep accounts safe. The tour will include promotional videos on the use of unique passwords and security notifications when an unknown device tries to access an account, and a blog post series about security features.
Google will endorse the campaign throughout the month of October, which is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, through blog posts, social media, and home page promotions that encourage users to take a “security checkup,” by managing any two-step verification that users have set up.
True Key, an Intel product, can strengthen account security by ensuring that only users have access to their passwords through facial recognition and fingerprints. Mastercard and BMO-Harris Bank are launching Mastercard Identity Check Mobile, which will allow users to authenticate a digital payment transaction with a fingerprint or selfie.
The SANS Institute is offering a National Cybersecurity Awareness Month Planning Kit, which will help companies promote cyber awareness throughout October.
