There has been a recent uptick in malicious actors posing as university students, faculty, or staff and phishing emails proposing unexpected job offers that seem too good to be true. Higher education institutions across the globe have been a target for these kinds of scams, which are dangerous to the Northeastern community.
To better protect you and your data, the university is updating and expanding Duo two-factor authentication to additional Northeastern services and systems. This expansion will significantly increase account security and reduce the risk of compromised accounts. Once the change has been made, Duo 2FA will be required when logging into any systems that leverage Active Directory services, which include Outlook email, the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools, Adobe Creative Cloud apps, and others. Users will receive an email with details and the date their account is scheduled for this update.
So, how does this change affect you and the rest of the community? Following is a list of impacts that users may experience because of this update:
- You’ll be prompted to log in again to the affected services and to verify with Duo 2FA. If you use multiple devices to access these services, you’ll need to log back in on each of those devices. Although this process may seem repetitive, it is safe, and doing so will improve the security of your account.
- You must select Active Directory on your login screen for Microsoft applications, Student Hub, and Adobe Creative Cloud. Selecting myNortheastern Login may block access to your account.
- If your Microsoft applications aren’t fully functional when you log back in, simply restart the application. But wait! Be sure to save your data (like that email or research paper you’ve been drafting!) before exiting the application.
Learn more 2FA tips and tricks to maximize your experience >
It pays to take advantage of security features and services already available to you to help keep your data safe. Keep in mind that your awareness is vital to preventing phishing attempts and spam emails from causing havoc. If you receive a suspicious email, use the Report button in Outlook. To verify the legitimacy of an email, forward the suspected message to phishcatcher@northeastern.edu to investigate.
For questions or concerns, contact the IT Service Desk for assistance 24/7 at 617.373.HELP [4357] or through the Tech Service Portal.