“It was a dark and stormy night. Deep in the forest, in a castle on the hill, the hackers sat in their dungeon, chained to their really fast computers, clicking and typing and doing other weird stuff. Just then a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and they knew they had done it. The system had been breached. The identities were stolen. MUAHAHAHA.”
If you want a real scary story this Halloween, read up on security breaches. A shadowy tale of password-snatchers will give anyone the chills. Luckily, ITS Security helps fight these dark arts with a team dedicated to Identity & Access Management (IAM). They oversee the organizational process of identifying, authenticating, and authorizing people who have access to WCM applications, systems, and networks.
To make self-managing your WCM account a little less scary, we recently transitioned password management powers to a homegrown site called myAccount accessible at identity.weill.cornell.edu.
On myAccount, you can do important identity & security-related tasks, like activating your CWID, registering with our multi-factor authentication service Duo, and changing or resetting your password. There is also an administrative console in myAccount for IT staff to perform password resets on behalf of the user.
Here are two things you can do today on myAccount to boost your WCM identity and security protections, and keep the ghouls at bay.
1. Input your personal email address at directory.weill.cornell.edu
Why? myAccount uses a super secure multiple-step process to retreive or change your password. If you forget your password, simply log into myAccount to retreive it. You’ll be presented with a list of personal email addresses that are partially obscured. When you choose the correct address, you’ll receive an email to that address that includes a link that takes you back to myAccount where you can reset your password, and peruse our password guide for tips on creating a strong password.
How? To get your personal email address on file, go to directory.weill.cornell.edu, log in, and select Edit Profile. From here, you can add a personal email address and publish it to Emergency Only, which means it won’t be publicly visible. Entering your personal email address has some additional security benefits - if there is ever an emergency event on campus, like a hurricane, snow storm, power outage or active shooter, WCM will be able to contact you to make sure you’re aware.
Add your personal email to your directory profile and set to Emergency Only
2. Register for Duo multi-factor authentication
When it comes to protecting WCM resources, multifactor authentication – or MFA – is like a powerful spell. Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a security process that requires more than one method of authentication to verify a user’s identity. In other words, a person wishing to use a system is given access only after providing two or more pieces of information which uniquely identifies that person.
Currently, you need an active Duo account to access sites like WBG or your O365 email from outside the WCMC network. This list of sites will continue to grow as ITS integrates Duo with all externally-accessible applications. Make sure you’re able to access all of the important sites you need by registering for Duo today on myAccount.
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, an annual collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure we have the resources you need to maintain your security online. Throughout October, we’ll be sending you tips on protecting your information and avoiding malicious attempts to extract your personal data. View this month's tips.