[WinPartners] Reminder to Faculty and Staff: Sign up for Duo Authentication Service by September 30

[Patricia Sheppard]

Good afternoon,

As announced in a memo sent in mid-July, MIT faculty and staff will be required to sign up for a two-factor authentication service called Duo<http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/display/istcontrib/Two-Factor+Authentication+with+Duo> no later than September 30. It’s all about strengthening IT security at MIT.

                      Recurring news stories tell the tale: passwords are frequently compromised. Two-factor authentication is a mechanism that protects systems, services and accounts for which a password alone provides insufficient security. It is based on the principle of something you know (your username and password) and something you have (your phone or a hardware token). You are first prompted to authenticate with your username and password, and then prompted for a second authentication step using your phone or other device.
As of September 30, you will need to use Duo for:

  *   Systems and applications accessed through the Touchstone authentication service
  *   Administrative access to systems managed by Information Systems and Technology (IS&T) or located in IS&T data centers
  *   Windows Remote Desktop and IS&T-managed Windows servers
  *   MIT’s critical infrastructure systems
Duo authentication will be required from wherever you connect, whether via direct connection to MITnet, VPN, or from a remote address.
Signing up
Community members are encouraged to start using Duo immediately. To sign up, go to the MIT Duo Security Account Management page<https://duo.mit.edu/>. Once authenticated, you can enroll one or more devices with Duo.

Support
To learn how to install and use Duo at MIT, see the Duo Home Page<http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/x/m9YwCQ> in the Knowledge Base. You may also want to check out Duo’s Guide to Two-Factor Authentication<https://guide.duosecurity.com/>. If you have questions, contact the IS&T Service Desk at helpdesk at mit.edu<mailto:helpdesk at mit.edu> or 617.253.1101.

Regards,

Pat
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Patricia Sheppard
Director, Provider and Consumer Partnerships
Information Systems and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
617-253-3179