When John Podesta, the boss of Hillary Clinton's failed presidential campaign, received an email security notification in March 2016, his bungled response led to one of the most high-profile hacks in the history of the internet.
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What should have prompted a routine security alert would instead go on to spark a trove of embarrassing leaks, throwing the campaign off course and potentially changing the outcome of the election.
A major state-sponsored hack on federal Parliament's IT systems last month prompted renewed focus on the risk here ahead of the May election, with weak links inside political parties and even candidates' personal email accounts considered vulnerable.
Now technology giant Microsoft has moved to extend specially designed hacking protections for political players to Australia, offering free programs to candidates and parties free of charge.
Microsoft Australia's director of corporate, external and legal affairs Tom Daemen said the AccountGuard cyber security service would be available to candidates and campaigns, think tanks and other organisations immediately.
It is already used by Office 365 users in the UK, US, Canada, Ireland, India and 12 European markets.
"At the macro level, that attack of Parliament was precisely the type of event that we created AccountGuard to help address," he said.
"That attack was a very strong reminder that Australia's democratic institutions are definitely a target and that good cyber security processes and hygiene are critical for everyone, no matter what their size is or where they're located."
Part of the company's Defending Democracy program, the non-partisan service offers threat notification across accounts being used by politicos, as well as security guidance and ongoing education and training.
It will specifically notify of attacks from known state hackers.
"A lot of campaigns are supported by and in some cases dominated by volunteers," Mr Daemen said.
"Those volunteers can be using personal email accounts but that doesn't mean you don't have access to some super important and specialised information and that's why we see those personal accounts getting targeted by nation state bad actors.
"It's not a magic silver bullet but we do think these steps and practices that focus on some unique aspects of campaigns and political parties are a critical step in the right direction."
Major political parties already work with the Australian Electoral Commission and intelligence agencies to limit cyber threats.
Mr Podesta used a visit to Australia this month to warn of cyber vulnerabilities here, including through sophisticated foreign interference by Russia or China.
Mr Daemen said the interconnectedness of modern communication meant Australia was at risk.
"The February attack brought that to the forefront," he said.
"There's an incredible amount of information that is available out there ... and I think it's critical for everybody to take advantage of those resources and really arm themselves to make sure their systems are as secure as possible as we come into the campaign season."
