Banner is switching to Duo for second-factor log-in

Exit Safeword, enter Duo.

This spring or summer, approximately 1,100 individuals (mostly staff members) who have access to the Banner Student Information System will move from Safeword to Duo Security as their two-factor authentication service. They will be transitioned in groups, and will receive an email with instructions before it's their turn to move.

Two-factor authentication, which requires a second "factor" (typically a device or code of some kind) before you can log in, is commonly used by services that require a higher level of security.

The campus is switching to Duo because it offers better pricing and an easier interface for campus users. Duo also offers choices on how it's used--individuals can use it with a free smartphone app, as well as with the new Duo hard tokens--and it works well. Many other universities already employ Duo.

The switch to Duo will not affect the way students access their accounts.

The first campus services to move from Safeword to Duo were the UNIX and Windows Bastion hosts, which technologists use for administrative access to servers they manage. That move last quarter involved about 300 people.

Information about Duo has also been posted in the IT Knowledge Base and IT Service Catalog. The campus is working to create a self-serve process that will allow individuals to register and update their own accounts for Duo.

The Duo implementation project is co-sponsored by Student Affairs and Information & Educational Technology. For more information, contact Duo Implementation Project Manager Joyce Johnstone at jmjohnstone@ucdavis.edu.