Dear Colleagues,

You may recall that I wrote to you last year asking every member of staff to implement multi-factor authentication (MFA). Given the serious consequences of the breaches and attacks we have seen in other institutions, the Senior Management Group has made the decision to make the introduction of multi-factor authentication, and completion of two short general training courses, mandatory for all staff. I appreciate these represent additional tasks for staff at a busy time of year, but it is in everyone’s interest that we take this step.

I am therefore asking you to implement MFA as soon as possible and complete the training courses by 31 May 2022 at the very latest. I would encourage you not to delay and to prioritise these actions.

Further information is set out below.

With best wishes

David Duncan

Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary

Chair, Cyber Security Working Group

Installing multi-factor authentication

If you are not yet using mfa, please select a time to start that suits you.

Go to www.gla.ac.uk/mfa

Click ‘Request multi-factor authentication to be enabled on your Office365 account’

Choose a time that suits you for multi-factor authentication to be enabled

Have your mobile ready and allow 10-15 minutes to complete the process

Due to increased cyber crime, colleagues who have not registered will soon be required to.

Use Outlook for Email

Please ensure that you are using Outlook, which includes Outlook for the web, or another email client that supports MFA. Email clients that do not support MFA will be unable to access University email.

Cyber Security Training and advice

Training

Colleagues who complete Information Security training are less likely to fall for a wide range of cyber attacks, or make a mistake leading to a data breach. Each course takes just one hour and is mandatory for staff, so if you have not yet completed these, please do them now: 

Security Advice

Remember

Please treat ALL unsolicited email with suspicion, regardless of whether or not the sender appears to be an organisation or person that you think that you can trust.

The University will NEVER ask you for your details via e-mail. If you are in any doubt about whether opening something is safe, contact the IT Helpdesk.

First published: 24 February 2022

<< 1 March 2022