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Enable Multi-factor Authentication to secure your online identity

Enrolling in Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), also known as Two-factor Authentication (2FA), TFA, Duo and Two-Step Verification, is an important additional step toward securing your online identity and personal information. You are also helping to protect University’s research, intellectual property, and institutional data.

The university’s MFA provider is a company named Duo Security (Duo for short).

MFA is a form of security that protects an account with two layers of authentication. The first layer is a PIN number or password. The second factor is something that you physically have, such as a device. 

After you enroll in MFA, whenever you log in to any MFA-protected website or service, you will enter your username and password (something you know) as you do today, and then use your smartphone or another device (something you have) to verify your identity.

MFA prevents others from signing in as you, even if they know your password. It protects you and the University of Alaska from the risks of phishing scams and other forms of password theft. 

Users’ passwords have been compromised by many different methods: guessing, hacking, watching you type the password, capturing the password on a computer with malware installed that records keystrokes, capturing passwords sent over a compromised network connection, capturing cached passwords on servers receiving passwords. Even the most careful user cannot be certain their password is never compromised by one or more of these attacks.

After you enroll in MFA, when you log in to any MFA-protected website or service, you will enter your ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å Username and password as you do already, and then use your smartphone or another device to verify your identity. 

Self-enroll to use multi-factor authentication

 Log in to ELMO, select Security Settings and choose the Multi-factor Authentication option.

• Once multi-factor authentication is enabled for your account, your first access to one of the relying services (ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å Blackboard, Google Workspace @ ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å, ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°åonline, DegreeWorks, OU Campus, MyÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å,  etc.)  triggers a login screen requesting your ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å Username and ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å Password.
• You will be presented with a page to automatically you will use for multi-factor authentication.   

Learn more about using MFA at