Cyber-fraud blocker working
The federal Credential Protection Register (CPR) has intercepted over half a million attempts to use stolen credentials in its first 2 years.
The Government says the CPR has been playing a major role in safeguarding Australians’ personal data from cybercriminals, blocking over 500,000 fraud attempts since it was launched in October 2022.
The CPR is designed to neutralise threats such as identity theft and disrupt the black market trade of stolen documents, which often leads to fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities.
The Register is intended to function as a safeguard without limiting legitimate usage.
For example, if an Australian passport is compromised in a data breach, registering it in the CPR would stop criminals from exploiting it for fraudulent purposes, though the passport’s rightful owner could still use it for travel.
The government allocated $14 million in its 2023–24 MYEFO and 2024–25 Budget to enhance the CPR’s capabilities.
This funding supports the creation of mobile and web tools that allow individuals to register their credentials and control how they are used. The new mobile app will alert users in real time if there is any unauthorised attempt to use their identity.
By integrating these new features, the CPR aims to offer Australians greater control and security over their identity credentials, a development that the government believes will be pivotal in curbing unauthorised identity use.