Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) has now been rolled out to all Sussex IT users, including students, staff and associates – a significant achievement for the University and an important milestone in our cyber security programme.

Over the course of August and September more than 4000 staff members were emailed guidance on how to set up their MFA, along with details about when the system would be enabled for them. Then, throughout September and October, the rollout was gradually widened to include more than 24,000 students, beginning with those joining the university this year before moving on to all returning students across all year groups. All remaining users were contacted in early November.

A big thank you to all involved

It is a testament to the adaptability and openness of our Sussex community that we have been able to introduce MFA this quickly. Using MFA undoubtedly represents a new way of working but it ensures that our cyber security measures are in line with most other higher education providers and with other industries that handle sensitive data.

Ahead of the rollout, ITS staff members carried out extensive testing of the new systems and we hope that the experience of setting up and using MFA has been simple for the vast majority of users. Figures from across the University demonstrate that less than 5% of IT users have needed to contact the Service Desk regarding MFA – a positive result given the scale and complexity of the project.

Interim Chief Operating Officer Emma Potts said, “Introducing MFA has been an essential change for the University, helping to protect our sensitive data at a time when large, research-orientated institutions are a common target for cyber criminals. I am conscious of the tremendous amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes to make the transition happen and would like to thank everyone involved for their dedication to the project over the last year, and to all staff and students for their engagement in this.”

MFA advice for the holidays

If you receive a new phone over the holidays, you can transfer your MFA account from your old phone using these instructions. If you trade in your old phone, or don’t have it to hand once you’ve received your new one, you can raise an IT Support Portal ticket or email itservicedesk@sussex.ac.uk to request an MFA account reset. MFA tickets can be raised on any day, and you will receive a response within 24 hours on weekdays (excluding Wednesday 25 December, Thursday 26 December and Wednesday 1 January) notifying you that your MFA account has been reset. 

Please be aware that between Monday 23 December and Wednesday 1 January (inclusive) the IT Support Portal and IT Service Desk email address will only be monitored for MFA issues, password issues, campus Wi-Fi outages, and major, university-wide incidents. The Service Desk phone line will not be open. Tickets relating to any other issues will be picked up once the Service Desk reopens on Thursday 2 January. 

For more information about MFA please visit the ITS MFA homepage.