Submitted by Dace Freivalds, I-Tech
Two factor authentication (2FA) will be mandatory for all Libraries’ employees (full- and part-time) by May 10, 2016. This means that you will need to enroll in 2FA prior to that date; if you have not done so you will not be able to log in to UCS, ESSIC or other services protected by WebAccess starting May 10.
As of today, 114 (or 19%) of the Libraries’ employees have enrolled in 2FA. We now have 70 days to reach our goal of 100% enrollment by Libraries faculty and staff.
What is 2FA?
Two factor authentication (2FA) is a second layer of security for your Access Account, meaning that, in addition to your password, extra information or a physical device (typically a phone) is required to log in to your account. Verifying your identity using a second factor such as your phone or other device prevents anyone but you from logging in even if someone else knows your password. Penn State’s two factor authentication is provided through Duo Security, a cloud based two factor authentication service.
What Do I Need to Do?
Enroll in 2FA before May 10. I-Tech will offer regular drop-in sessions as well as departmental sessions to provide assistance with enrollment. The one hour drop-in sessions have been scheduled for every Friday, March 4 – May 6 at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the I-Tech Training Room. In addition, beginning March 1, Ryan Johnson (I-Tech) will contact department heads, campus library heads and supervisors to set up departmental sessions. These sessions will include a brief overview of 2FA for the entire department/unit, one week for enrollment, and a return visit from Ryan after the week is up for some more targeted assistance if needed.
You do not have to wait for the drop-in or departmental sessions to enroll. If you want to get going on this, the 2FA web site created by Identity Services/ITS provides instructions on how to enroll. In addition, you can refer to I-Tech’s 2FA FAQ for answers to your questions. And if you bump into a problem, submit a Service Desk request and we’ll provide assistance.
Will I Get Reminders to Enroll?
Yes. Four weeks before May 10, Identity Services will begin to send weekly email reminders to individuals who are not enrolled in 2FA. We will also have a weekly countdown in Library News so that you do not lose sight of the deadline for enrollment.
What Do You Mean by a 2FA Device?
2FA requires that you use a physical device as your second level of authentication. The preferred physical devices are smartphones, cell phones, landlines or tablets. It’s important to enroll more than one device in 2FA in case you misplace or something happens to your only enrolled device. For example, if you accidentally leave your cell phone at home, you could use your landline office phone as a backup way to log in to WebAccess.
Duo hardware tokens can also be used as the second factor device. At the Libraries, tokens are available by request per guidelines established by the Libraries administration.
Where Can I get Help?
For more information on 2FA, please see Identity Services’ Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Enrollment and I-Tech’s 2FA FAQ web pages. If you cannot find answers to your questions in these pages, please submit a service desk request or email dace@psu.edu.