The following information is intended to provide faculty, staff, and students with information about the upcoming expansion and changes to the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) program at Mason.
Last Updated: October 6, 2020
Background
George Mason University remains committed to your security and keeping your information protected. One way we achieve this is by using Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) with many of the university’s applications that may contain sensitive information. 2FA and your Patriot Pass Password are #Better2gether.
Building on the work completed during the 2019-2020 academic year, throughout academic year 2020-2021, ITS will continue to expand the use of 2FA to better protect personal information and Mason resources wherever you use your Mason NetID and Patriot Pass Password. To accomplish this, ITS will be:
The following is an overview of what’s come.
Protecting Additional Applications
To best protect your personal information and Mason’s resources, 2FA will ultimately be used everywhere you use Mason Credentials (NetID and Patriot Pass Password). It is currently used for the following services as of the dates below:
- Future: Blackboard and related services
- June 2020: Employee Office 365 email, calendar, OneDrive for Business, MS Teams; Zoom; and other applications that use Active Directory Federated Services (ADFS) for authentication. For more information about 2FA for Office 365, see 2FA for Office 365 Tips.
- March 2020: Salesforce, LinkedIn Learning, Qualtrics, Webex, and other applications that use Mason's Shibboleth authentication services
- April 2018: Patriot Web, Travel Request System, Parking Services, and other applications that use Mason’s Central Authentication Services (CAS)
- November 2016: Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Enroll and Require 2FA for Students
Protect your personal information in Patriot Web and other Mason applications. All students are now able and encouraged to voluntarily enroll in 2FA. Beginning September 27, 2020, students will be required to enroll in Duo 2FA:
- Current Students: Before you change your Patriot Pass Password at password.gmu.edu
- New Students: When initially claiming your NetID and setting your Patriot Pass Password for the first time
See the Get Started With 2FA Checklist for additional information and instructions on how to enroll. You will need:
- Access to the internet and 2fa.gmu.edu
- A phone - a smartphone is preferred - the use for the initial identity identification and future authentication
- A non-Mason email address to use for emergency account recovery
2FA will be required for students to have Direct Deposit in Patriot Web.
Timeline
| What's Happening | When to Expect It | Status | |
| Summer 2019 | Retire voice callback and SMS text for NEW enrollees | July 23, 2019 | Complete |
| Open enrollment for students | July 23, 2019 | Complete | |
| Fall 2019 | Retire voice callback and SMS text | November 19, 2019 | Complete |
| Spring 2020 | Windows 7 End of Service Life | January 14, 2020 | Complete |
| Implement unified login experience | March 8, 2020 | Complete | |
| Release 2FA for additional applications | March 8, 2020 | Complete | |
| Summer 2020 | Release of 2FA for Office 365 to all employees | June 1, 2020 | Complete |
| Voluntary student enrollment in 2FA available | July 27, 2020 | Complete | |
| Fall 2020 | Complete release of 2FA for Office 365 | August 15, 2020 | Complete |
| Release new Password Management website | September 27, 2020 | Complete | |
| Begin current student required enrollment at password change | September 27, 2020 | Complete | |
| Begin NEW student required enrollment during account claiming | September 27, 2020 | Complete | |
| Spring 2021 | Complete student enrollment in 2FA | March 31, 2020 | In Process |
Current Status (Updated: September 1, 2020)
- 2FA for Office 365:
- Nearly 26,000 accounts are 2FA for O365 enabled; 6,200 accounts remain (~3,000 active)
- 2FA for Office 365 is available for all employees upon request
- All new employee accounts are 2FA required at time of creation as of March 2020
- All Office 365 accounts to be 2FA enabled by October; weekly enrollments will resume the week of September 14, 2020
- 2FA for Students:
- Voluntary enrollment is ongoing and being marketed
- Over 8,000 students already enrolled in 2FA
- Communications for required enrollment under development and will begin by mid-September
Key Tasks Recently Completed
- 8 weeks of 2FA for Office 365 (employee) cutovers complete during Summer 2020. 95%+ of faculty (non-adjunct) and staff are enrolled
- 2FA for students voluntary enrollment marketed through summer and start of school through various media including ITS Website, Blackboard, social media, and Mason departmental communications