Duo Implementation Now Complete

In Fall 2021, Information Technology Services (ITS) at ISU began evaluating and designing a multifactor authentication process to increase electronic security, in what came to be known as the Duo Project. The implementation phase of that project is drawing to a close, with over 23,000 registered ISU users.  Each week, these users complete an average of 90,000 authentications through Duo.   

“The vast majority of ISU’s faculty, students, and staff have embraced multifactor authentication and recognize the need for additional security to protect ISU’s most important resource: our people,” said Jared Bartel, Associate CIO of Infrastructure Services at ISU.  

Multifactor authentication requires users to provide more than just a password to access a secure application. ITS has partnered with Duo to help us manage our multifactor authentication efforts. After users enter their username and password, Duo requires them to provide a second method of identification before granting access.  

“In a perfect world, we would not need passwords or multifactor authentication; however, we are under constant attack using innumerable approaches and methods.  Multifactor authentication has helped keep our resource and personal information secure,” Bartel said.  

He provided a recent example of this.  “An ISU student accessing secure systems didn’t know their password had been compromised.  The bad actor used the student’s password to scan and attempt to log in to multiple secure systems across campus.  Multifactor authentication helped secure that account,...protecting it and ISU resources.” 

ITS wants to thank the ISU community for their understanding and cooperation during this implementation phase. We have developed numerous tools to assist users and answer their questions, which will remain available and up to date.  However, if you have any questions about Duo, you are invited to contact the IT Service Desk for assistance.