Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson

Security feature scans for stolen ServiceNSW passwords

About 20pct of Australians are estimated to have fallen victim to identity crime in the past year. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)

New South Wales residents will be warned if their government accounts are compromised or passwords are published on the dark web as part of a new cyber security measure.

The feature will be added to MyServiceNSW accounts from Tuesday and will automatically warn users if their email addresses or passwords have been discovered in a third-party breach.

The NSW government will work with an undisclosed security firm to scan for leaks.

Digital Government Minister Jihad Dib said the tool was designed to provide "an additional level of security" to ensure residents' personal information remained safe.

"We know cyber attacks are on the rise and many people might not be as cyber secure as they could be," Mr Dib said. 

"A lot of people use the same password for multiple online accounts, exposing them to a data breach or leaks."

The MyServiceNSW portal is used more than 2.7 million times each month for services including vehicle registration, driver's licence renewals, and to access disaster and cost-of-living support funds.

The government also added a password strength-testing feature to the service in October.

The Australian Cybercrime Survey, published in July, found 20 per cent of Australians had suffered identity crime in the past year and 31 per cent of Australians had experienced identity theft in their lifetime.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.