Mike Hill, NPDN IT Director
The Communicator: Volume 5, Issue 10, October 2024
IT Security has always been a top priority for the NPDN network. Considering recent attacks and disruptions associated with those attacks, the NPDN IT Center will be performing a complete cybersecurity assessment over the upcoming agreement year. Also, the NPDN IT Center will require two-factor authentication (2FA) to be enabled on all NPDN user accounts by December 31, 2024.
2FA provides a much higher level of security by not only requiring a username and password, but also requiring the user to verify something they possess. 2FA on NPDN accounts requires providing a random six-digit code that changes every 30 seconds (see figure one).
Figure 1: CAS 2FA Token
The CERIS CAS system supports codes that can be generated using either Duo Mobile or Google Authenticator on mobile devices. The applications can be downloaded on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Please let us know if you do not own a mobile device that supports these apps and alternative authentication options can be discussed.
We encourage all users to set up 2FA before the end-of-the-year deadline. An online guide is available at https://www.npdn.org/system/files/basic_page/npdn_2factor_setup.pdf that details the steps to setup 2FA on your account. Additionally, the NPDN IT Center will be hosting online workshops on Friday afternoons to walk users through the setup process. You can sign-up for one of these workshops by visiting https://www.npdn.org/2fa_sign-ups. Each workshop will be limited to 10 participants so we encourage you to sign up quickly if you would like to attend.
In addition to enabling 2FA on your account, we also highly recommend that users set up a mobile phone under their profile that can be used for recovery purposes. This will be even more important once you have 2FA enabled in case you lose or damage the device that generates your 2FA codes. The NPDN IT Center can be reached by email at IT@npdn.org if you have any questions or run into any issues.
Thanks for all that you do to keep the network secure!
We encourage all users to set up 2FA before the end-of-the-year deadline. An online guide is available at https://www.npdn.org/system/files/basic_page/npdn_2factor_setup.pdf that details the steps to setup 2FA on your account. Additionally, the NPDN IT Center will be hosting online workshops on Friday afternoons to walk users through the setup process. You can sign-up for one of these workshops by visiting https://www.npdn.org/2fa_sign-ups. Each workshop will be limited to 10 participants so we encourage you to sign up quickly if you would like to attend.
In addition to enabling 2FA on your account, we also highly recommend that users set up a mobile phone under their profile that can be used for recovery purposes. This will be even more important once you have 2FA enabled in case you lose or damage the device that generates your 2FA codes. The NPDN IT Center can be reached by email at IT@npdn.org if you have any questions or run into any issues.
Thanks for all that you do to keep the network secure!
