White House, NCSA launch campaign for adoption of strong authentication

The White House, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and more than 35 companies and NGOs have launched a new internet safety and security campaign, “Lock Down Your Login,” to empower Americans to better protect their online accounts.

Launched as part of the President’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), the campaign is designed to encourage people to move beyond usernames and passwords and widely adopt strong authentication for key online accounts.

The Lock Down Your Login initiative is timed with the launch of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

NCSA and the campaign partners are calling on all Americans to strengthen their key online accounts by locking down their logins in October to ultimately make the internet safer for them and more secure for everyone.

The campaign suggests adopting security measures such as security keys, biometrics or entering a unique code sent to you as a text or provided by an app on your mobile device.

The agency has posted a new animated video asking Americans to adopt strong authentication for their key online accounts on the Lock Down Your Login website.

“Now more than ever, it’s important to remember that personal information is extremely valuable and protecting it should be a high priority for everyone,” said Michael Kaiser, NCSA’s executive director. “This campaign is truly a collaborative effort, and we are thankful to our Lock Down Your Login sponsors and partner organizations for their support and commitment to our shared responsibility of promoting cybersecurity and online safety awareness.”

Six years ago, the NCSA and the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) launched the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. campaign with the help of various companies, government agencies and NGOs.

The campaign has grown to become the leading initiative for cybersecurity education and awareness with more than 700 partners in 20 countries across the globe.

Article Topics

access control  |  authentication  |  biometrics  |  cybersecurity  |  digital identity  |  privacy  |  U.S. Government