The UT Knoxville campus and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) are implementing two-factor authentication, or 2FA, for access to many online resources. It’s an important initiative, and we ask all faculty and staff to sign up today to protect yourself and the UT community.
Over the past year, UT Knoxville had approximately 2,000 compromised accounts, and the campus is targeted with a new phishing scam each day. Two-factor authentication greatly reduces this risk by providing an additional substantial layer of protection against stolen credentials and compromised accounts. It also will help protect university information such as research, student, and employee data.
Did you see the Chronicle of Higher Education article about the three colleges whose admissions databases were recently breached when hackers gained access to staff login credentials? The hackers used that access to download files which they offered to sell to applicants. Such information is more than just school records; it is information that can be used to steal a student’s identity. Please protect our students’ data and help us avoid a similar breach at UT by signing up now for 2FA.
As an incentive, NetID passwords will no longer expire for anyone who signs up for 2FA and changes their NetID password to a new one with 12 to 16 characters. You can sign up today on the 2FA website, where you can also review the step-by-step instructions and frequently asked questions.
Contact the OIT HelpDesk online or by calling 865-974-9900 for additional information.