Passwords Aren’t Enough to Secure Veteran Accounts–Enable MFA Today

In today's digital landscape, taking steps to secure your data is more critical than ever. Whether you’re signing in to manage your benefits, review a medical report, or simply schedule an appointment, bad actors are constantly seeking access to your accounts.

Millions of Veterans accessing your VA benefits, services, and information online are now using an extra layer of online protection due to one simple yet potent method—multi-factor authentication (MFA). But the work is not done. More than half of VA Health and Benefits mobile app users and almost 90 percent of Login.gov accounts and VA.gov signed-in users still need the added security that MFA provides.


MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION

You’ve probably been told to create long complicated passwords. Or perhaps you have a password manager to help keep your login information organized. While these are valuable practices, they are not enough to protect your data.

Enter multi-factor authentication. Also known as two-factor authentication, MFA is an additional security layer that guarantees it’s you who wants in. With multi-factor authentication enabled, every time you sign in, you’ll receive a verification request on a
personal device to which only you have access.


MFA’s IMPACT BY THE NUMBERS

Over the past year, Veterans have taken proactive steps to bolster their VA online data security when using Login.gov and whenever signing in to VA.gov and the VA Health and Benefits mobile app. The number of Login.gov accounts with MFA enabled has more than doubled, surging from 430,000 MFA users to nearly 1.1 million. The result? Over 650,000 fewer entry points for cyber threats to exploit.

There’s a similar trend among VA.gov and VA Health and Benefits mobile app users. As of July 2023, nearly 750,000 VA Health and Benefits App users and approximately 1.8 million VA.gov users have multi-factor authentication enabled. When combined with Login.gov, that’s over 3.6 million accounts or users that are now off-limits to cyber
threats.


TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR DATA

In just a matter of minutes, you can bolster your cybersecurity with multi-factor authentication. This simple step can make all the difference between tranquility and the turmoil of falling victim to fraudulent activities. You have the power to thwart cyber
threats.

Enable MFA today to safeguard your data against malicious actors.

Watch VA’s video on multi-factor authentication https://rly.pt/MFAVideo.

For the latest cybersecurity tips, bookmark and regularly visit the Cybersecurity Spot athttps://rly.pt/CyberSecuritySpot




By VA Office of Information and Technology