July 8, 2020

Dear UO faculty, staff, and GEs,

An important university deadline is approaching: Starting on July 29, you will be required to use two-step login (Duo) before you can access any protected UO services, such as Canvas, Zoom, UOmail, and Microsoft applications. All faculty, staff, and graduate employees must enroll by July 29.

More than 5,500 members of the UO community are already using Duo. Many thanks to those who are. I've been using Duo myself since February and find it quick, easy, and seamless.

If you haven't yet taken action, I urge you to enroll in Duo as soon as possible.

The sooner you enroll, the sooner you will protect your account. Every week, UO's Information Security Office sees coordinated campaigns attempting to steal credentials from UO faculty, staff, and students. Cybercriminals aim to use stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to systems containing personal information, research data, and intellectual property. Two-step login blocks nearly 100% of such attacks, according to research by Google and Microsoft.

With the COVID-19 pandemic making universities even more vulnerable to cyberattacks due to widespread learning and working from off-campus networks, measures such as Duo have become more critical than ever.

I strongly suggest, for the security of your own work and for the good of the institution, that you make the change now. Don't wait for the deadline. UO IT staff are available to help. Go to this webpage for directions on how to sign up and get help.

Protect yourself, your students, your colleagues, and the university by enrolling in Duo today. Thanks for helping make us all more secure.

Sincerely,

Patrick Phillips
Provost and Senior Vice President