Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
Also known as Two-factor Authentication (2FA), TFA, Duo and Two-Step Verification.
Duo MFA required for students and staff
By Mar. 20, 2024, University of Ӱ Fairbanks students and employees along with System Office employees must use Duo Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) to access any UA SSO services. These include UAOnline, Blackboard/Canvas, & Google Workspace. Enroll today to secure access to your university accounts!
By enrolling in MFA, you are taking an important additional step toward securing your
online identity and personal information. You are also helping to protect University’s
research, intellectual property, and institutional data.
MFA is a form of security that protects an account with two layers of authentication. The first layer is a PIN number or password, something that you know. The second factor is something that you physically have, such as a device. For example, a bank account uses MFA for security by requiring both a PIN and a debit card. The university’s MFA provider is a company named Duo Security (Duo for short).
After you enroll in MFA, when you log in to any MFA-protected website or service, you will enter your username and password (something you know) as you do today, and then use your smartphone or another device (something you have) to verify your identity.
All employees and UA students using any university SSO service are required to use MFA.
MFA prevents others from signing in as you, even if they know your password. It protects you and the University of Ӱ from the risks of phishing scams and other forms of passwords theft.
Users’ passwords have been compromised by many different methods: guessing, hacking, watching you type the password, capturing the password on a computer with malware installed that records keystrokes, capturing passwords sent over a compromised network connection, capturing cached passwords on servers receiving passwords. Even the most careful user cannot be certain their password is never compromised by one or more of these attacks.
After you enroll in MFA, when you log in to any MFA-protected website or service, you will enter your UA Username and password as you do already, and then use your smartphone or another device to verify your identity.
The additional verification is not a second password, but a verification that depends on something else, such as demonstrating possession of your unlocked smartphone, or a security key, or a “biometric” such as a fingerprint, none of which would be compromised by even a successful attack on your password.
The University's MFA provider is a company named Duo Security (Duo for short).
Get Started
Self-enroll to use multi-factor authentication
Log in to ELMO, select Security Settings and choose the Multi-factor Authentication option.
- Once multi-factor authentication is enabled for your account, your first access to one of the relying services (UA Blackboard, Google Workspace @ UA, UAonline, DegreeWorks, Modern Campus CMS, MyUA, etc.) triggers a login screen requesting your UA Username and UA Password.
- You will be presented with a page to automatically enroll and register the device(s) you will use for multi-factor authentication.
Enroll your device(s)
- Set up a smartphone or tablet (Duo Mobile) – recommended
- Set up a phone or landline
- Set up a security key
We recommend using Duo Mobile on your smartphone because it’s free, secure, and simple to use. Duo Mobile creates no data on your device.
Manage your MFA-registered devices
You can manage your registered device(s) at any time, including:
- Adding a phone or other device as a backup in case your primary phone is unavailable
- Changing your primary device to receive notifications
- Changing your notification type
- Reactivating the Duo Mobile app on your device