The Australian government has announced its plans to launch additional biometric security measures for important online government services in 2024 to address a surge of online scam attempts.
The announcement follows the federal government's statement on having to deal with thousands of scam attempts at myGov accounts each month. myGov is an online app used by Australian residents to access different government services, including viewing tax records and accessing healthcare and social welfare.
Australia has recently become the target of a wave of cyberattacks and scamming activities. According to reports, hackers are selling stolen myGov login details on the dark net.
In an interview, Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten explained that the Australian government had proposed introducing "passkeys" to the myGov app in the first six months of 2024.
With passkeys enabled, users can log in to their myGov accounts using face or fingerprint recognition instead of usernames and passwords. Shorten added that the new measure would help give added protection for myGov users.
"If you have a smartphone, you can use a thumbprint, or you can use facial ID, and that unlocks your phone and gets you going," said Shorten. He added that it's a "good system of security because they can't be phished."
Shorten also insisted that the Australian government doesn't want nor keep user data, adding that it is using "the technology of people's phones to increase the protection of their government data."
The minister encouraged Australians to use and trust the new system, saying that the digital world works and myGov has secure levels of authentication.
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Between January and October, his department caught at least 6,000 cases where hackers tried to get access to the myGov accounts of other people. According to the minister, those accounts were not hacked but were subject to some forms of phishing where criminals sent official-looking myGov emails that instructed users to forward their financial details.
The criminals were unable to access the myGov accounts due to multi-factor identification, but Shorten warned that it was still a serious attempt to impersonate users.
He also warned that these criminals were selling the tools that allowed hackers to steal myGov data from users.
"Criminals, malicious actors are making it easy for other criminals to generate and recreate myGov phishing sites," said Shorten.
The minister advised Australians to remain cautious and not to click on suspicious links in emails impersonating official sources.
Privacy experts raise valid concerns about biometric security
But while the Australian government is pushing for more biometric security measures to protect Australians' privacy, there have been growing concerns among the public about the increasing use of surveillance by both government and private institutes. (Related: DNA testing technology can be abused by the government to turn the U.S. into a SURVEILLANCE STATE.)
Some shoppers have expressed their objections to several major supermarket chains' plans to enhance camera surveillance at self-checkout stations, along with other similar measures to address a surge in shoplifting cases.
Other shoppers have said these companies "overstepped their boundaries and invaded customers' privacy."
In July, privacy experts challenged the transparency of several Australian concert venues that have implemented facial recognition technology while not explicitly informing consumers.
Even though some of the venues claimed that they did not collect or monetize facial recognition data, experts warned that most of the venues did not explicitly ask patrons for consent to collect their data.
The venues also did not tell patrons about the use of facial surveillance at the point of sale on ticketing websites.
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Watch the video below to learn how India is now letting banks use biometrics to confirm transactions.
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