IT: Multi-factor Authentication for O365

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What is Multi-Factor Authentication?  

 Multi-factor authentication is a method to better secure your email and Office 365 accounts by adding verification steps to prove your identity. This additional security comes from having to APPROVE the sign-ins to your accounts using a mobile device. This way, if a hacker has somehow managed to get your password, they will not be able to access your email or Office 365 account, since they will not have your mobile device to approve the sign-in.  

How will Multi-Factor Authentication affect you?   

As MFA is enabled for your department, you will have to verify your account with an additional step when signing in. The Information Technology Team will contact you and guide you through the Multi-Factor Authentication implementation process. 

You will receive instructions via email on how to set up your account for MFA.

If you have any questions regarding Multi-Factor Authentication for your Office 365 account, please email itsupport@cooper.edu. 

Traveling Abroad

If you’re planning on traveling outside of the USA and need access to your Cooper Union O365 applications and email, then you will need to take steps to ensure that your multi-factor authentication (MFA) will work properly during your journey. Before you travel you will need to change your authentication method to use the Microsoft Authenticator App, which you can install on your smartphone. The app is dependent on a data signal (either Wi-Fi or cellular) if your phone has international service enabled for the country you are visiting or you buy a local SIM card.

To check which MFA methods are associated with your account, go to My Sign Ins and log in with your O365 log on details and complete your MFA. From there you will be able to select your default way to sign in with MFA.  Please see the Managing your MFA setup page for detailed instructions on how to do this.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.