{"id":553,"date":"2025-09-17T16:53:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T20:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/?p=553"},"modified":"2026-09-23T14:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T18:27:26","slug":"multi-factor-authentication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/","title":{"rendered":"Multi-Factor Authentication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-4a938530 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">To help mitigate the risk of a compromised account, Clark uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) on our accounts. Once enrolled, your access to important Clark systems will be secured with both a password AND confirmation from a second factor, like a smartphone app or security token.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background has-small-font-size is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">From January 2027, you will no longer be able to authenticate with SMS or voice. <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ITS, along with Microsoft and most major information security organizations, strongly recommend using Microsoft Authenticator as your primary factor.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authenticator apps are more secure against SIM cloning, interception, and social-engineering phishing. Additionally, they allow users more flexibility when traveling away from their primary phone number and when offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"arrow\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/support.clarku.edu\/support\/search\/solutions?term=MFA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instructions on how to set up and manage MFA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column sidebar-right is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:30%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 sidebar-right\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/support.clarku.edu\/a\/solutions\/categories\/39000001252\/folders\/39000151599\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">step-by-step set-up<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 sidebar-right\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/mysignins.microsoft.com\/security-info\">manage your factors<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-frequently-asked-questions\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What is multi-factor authentication?<\/summary>\n<p>Click below to watch a short (3 minute) video about Multi-Factor Authentication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mediaspace.clarku.edu\/media\/Multi-Factor+Authentication\/1_0g9q1xvq?_gl=1*n2mb22*_gcl_au*MTQ1Nzg5MjE0MS4xNzUyMjQwNTU4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"458\" height=\"227\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2025-06-30_14-26-41.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2025-06-30_14-26-41.png 458w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2025-06-30_14-26-41-300x149.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 458px) 100vw, 458px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Multi-Factor Authentication, sometimes referred to as\u202fTwo-Step\u202fLogin,\u202fTwo-Factor\u202fAuthentication,\u202for\u202f2FA, is a security enhancement that\u202frequires you to\u202fpresent two\u202f(or more)\u202fpieces of evidence of who you are&nbsp;when logging in to an account.\u202fThis\u202fevidence\u202fshould fall into two (or more)\u202fof these three categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>something you know:&nbsp;for example,&nbsp;a password or PIN<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>something you have: for example, an application on your phone or a bank card<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>something you are: for example, a fingerprint or retinal scan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, you probably already use multi-factor authentication in some form. For example, you\u2019ve used MFA if you\u2019ve:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>swiped your bank card (something you have) at the ATM and then entered your PIN (something you know).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>logged into a website, like Amazon, with a username and password (something you know) and was then sent a numeric code to your phone (something you have), which you entered to gain access to your account.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Multi-factor authentication helps to protect your personal data, identity and money.&nbsp;ITS recommends enabling multi-factor authentication (or Two-Step Login) where available for any online services that you use regularly&nbsp;such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/landing\/2step\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google\/Gmail<\/a>,&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/HT204915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple<\/a>&nbsp;and others.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Can I use SMS\/Text Messages as my factor?<\/summary>\n<p>Starting in January 2027, you will no longer be able to use SMS to authenticate your account.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>I can\u2019t use a smartphone. How can I use multi-factor authentication?<\/summary>\n<p>If you\u2019re in a position where you can\u2019t use either the smartphone application to authenticate your account, please <a href=\"https:\/\/support.clarku.edu\/a\/tickets\/new\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contact the Help Desk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>How can I update my factors?<\/summary>\n<p>You may need to do this if you buy or sell your smartphone, add a new factor, or manage your factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mysignins.microsoft.com\/security-info\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to&nbsp;update, add or delete any of your factors.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.clarku.edu\/support\/solutions\/articles\/39000011368-Account-Manage-MFA-Factors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here for more information about how to update your factors.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What happens if I forget my phone at home and need to teach?<\/summary>\n<p>If you are a faculty or staff member, multi-factor authentication (for most systems) is only required when connecting from off-campus. If you are teaching a class, running a meeting, or need to access resources while on campus, you will not be required to authenticate with your second factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students will be required to use multi-factor authentication both on and off campus. If you forget your second factor, you can contact the Help Desk for further advice.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>How often will I need to authenticate using multi-factor authentication?<\/summary>\n<p>You will need to authenticate the first time you use a new device (computer, laptop, phone, tablet, etc.),&nbsp;or browser to access protected systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the initial authentication on a device, you may be asked to reauthenticate again in the future, usually after a number of days\/weeks. ITS will calibrate the timing of reauthentication requests to best balance security needs and your convenience.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-style-faq is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>What happens if I lose my phone?<\/summary>\n<p>When using multi-factor authentication, your smartphone is an important step in accessing your account. If you lose your device, please <a href=\"https:\/\/support.clarku.edu\/a\/tickets\/new\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reach out to the Help Desk<\/a>&nbsp;so we can verify your identity and get you back into your account as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To help mitigate the risk of a compromised account, Clark uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) on our accounts. Once enrolled, your access to important Clark systems will be secured with both a password AND confirmation from a second factor, like a smartphone app or security token. From January 2027, you will no longer be able to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":377,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,21],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-explore-services","category-m","tag-m"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.1 (Yoast SEO v28.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Multi-Factor Authentication | Information Technology Services | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Multi-Factor Authentication\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To help mitigate the risk of a compromised account, Clark uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) on our accounts. Once enrolled, your access to important Clark systems will be secured with both a password AND confirmation from a second factor, like a smartphone app or security token. 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evidence of who you are&nbsp;when logging in to an account.\u202fThis\u202fevidence\u202fshould fall into two (or more)\u202fof these three categories:\n\nsomething you know:&nbsp;for example,&nbsp;a password or PIN\nsomething you have: for example, an application on your phone or a bank card\nsomething you are: for example, a fingerprint or retinal scan\n\nIn fact, you probably already use multi-factor authentication in some form. For example, you\u2019ve used MFA if you\u2019ve:\n\nswiped your bank card (something you have) at the ATM and then entered your PIN (something you know).\nlogged into a website, like Amazon, with a username and password (something you know) and was then sent a numeric code to your phone (something you have), which you entered to gain access to your account.\n\nMulti-factor authentication helps to protect your personal data, identity and money.&nbsp;ITS recommends enabling multi-factor authentication (or Two-Step Login) where available for any online services that you use regularly&nbsp;such as&nbsp;Google\/Gmail,&nbsp;&nbsp;Apple&nbsp;and others.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-2","position":2,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-2","name":"Can I use SMS\/Text Messages as my factor?","answerCount":"1","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Starting in January 2027, you will no longer be able to use SMS to authenticate your account.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-3","position":3,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-3","name":"I can\u2019t use a smartphone. How can I use multi-factor authentication?","answerCount":"1","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"If you\u2019re in a position where you can\u2019t use either the smartphone application to authenticate your account, please contact the Help Desk.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-4","position":4,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-4","name":"How can I update my factors?","answerCount":"1","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"You may need to do this if you buy or sell your smartphone, add a new factor, or manage your factors.\n\nClick here to&nbsp;update, add or delete any of your factors.\nClick here for more information about how to update your factors.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-5","position":5,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-5","name":"What happens if I forget my phone at home and need to teach?","answerCount":"1","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"If you are a faculty or staff member, multi-factor authentication (for most systems) is only required when connecting from off-campus. If you are teaching a class, running a meeting, or need to access resources while on campus, you will not be required to authenticate with your second factor.\nStudents will be required to use multi-factor authentication both on and off campus. If you forget your second factor, you can contact the Help Desk for further advice.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-6","position":6,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-6","name":"How often will I need to authenticate using multi-factor authentication?","answerCount":"1","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"You will need to authenticate the first time you use a new device (computer, laptop, phone, tablet, etc.),&nbsp;or browser to access protected systems.\nAfter the initial authentication on a device, you may be asked to reauthenticate again in the future, usually after a number of days\/weeks. ITS will calibrate the timing of reauthentication requests to best balance security needs and your convenience.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Question","@id":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-7","position":7,"url":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/multi-factor-authentication\/#faq-7","name":"What happens if I lose my phone?","answerCount":"1","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"When using multi-factor authentication, your smartphone is an important step in accessing your account. If you lose your device, please reach out to the Help Desk&nbsp;so we can verify your identity and get you back into your account as quickly as possible.","inLanguage":"en-US"},"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1520,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553\/revisions\/1520"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/information-technology-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}