ASU fortifies its online portal with Duo software

Starting today, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro students, faculty and staff can use multifactor authentication when using the university's MyCampus portal.

The security addition comes after the portal -- a website where students, faculty and staff can pay bills, check their financial aid status, review payroll records and register for parking passes among other business -- was the target of two phishing scams this academic year, the university said. ASU's Information Technology Services will be footing the $37,459 bill for the extra security this year, it said.

The university is starting a soft rollout of a new software package, called Duo, that provides the "multi-factor authentication," which means MyCampus users will need to provide their passwords and a confirmation code to login, according to a news release. The rollout will last four weeks.

By April 18, all MyCampus users will be required to use Duo.

To activate Duo, users will have to register a phone number at which they can be reached, said Henry Torres, the university's chief information officer.

"This number will be used to confirm that when someone is attempting to log in to your MyCampus account, that person is in fact you," he said in a news release. "You can choose to receive a phone call, text message, or if you're using a smartphone, you can download an app for a push notification."

When an attempt is made to access a MyCampus account, the user will be alerted through the phone number listed and receive a string of numbers, which will be a verification code. If using the mobile app, users will have to answer a question, according to the news release.

In the fall, five Arkansas State students had direct deposit information changed, and three had funds taken, the university said. In the spring, 20 students were affected by another phishing scheme, it said, adding it did not think the two were related.

Following the phishing attempts, the university told its students to change their passwords and verify the direct deposit accounts. Since then, one other student reported being redirected in December, said Bill Smith, the university's spokesman.

"By the nature of these phishing schemes, there is a very low probability of recovering the funds," he said.

Metro on 03/20/2018

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