McGill Education Community Scheduled for 2FA April Set-Up

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

We are writing to you to make you aware of the required cybersecurity measures McGill has been implementing during the past year’s remote work situation and the impending completion scheduled for our Faculty. McGill has been rolling out two-factor authentication (2FA) for all new accounts since January 2020. In April, IT Services will support the Faculty of Education in securing all remaining accounts for faculty, staff, and students.

What to Expect:

If you entered McGill before January 2020 and have not yet set up 2FA on your McGill account, your account will be automatically set up in April 2021. You will receive an email from IT Announcements with instructions, and the specific date when the new configuration will occur. Once your account is set up from the backend, you will be locked out of McGill systems until you complete the instructions to set up 2FA. This means that you will not be able to access email, Office 365, myCourses, Workday, and other McGill software until you have completed registering for 2FA.

How to Set Up 2FA:

Go to mcgill.ca/2fa to enroll and complete the setup any weekday between 8:30 am and 6:00 pm. It usually takes 10 – 15 minutes. You will need to have a mobile phone or tablet in addition to your laptop/computer for both the setup and to authenticate whenever prompted. For questions or assistance, contact the IT Service Desk at mcgill.ca/itsupport/servicedesk.

Why is this process necessary?

Cybercrime is one of the biggest threats to higher-ed institutions and two-factor authentication is an important measure to keep our systems and information secure. It protects you because even if a cybercriminal obtains your password, they also need another means of identification (your phone or other mobile device) to access your account.

Don’t wait – avoid being locked out and enroll today!