A successful “phish” can compromise personal information, leading to identity theft and the loss of money, time, and peace of mind. A successful phish also can create a gateway into university resources, allowing systematic attacks to be perpetrated. Phishing and other attacks on university systems and credentials threaten individual privacy and the integrity and confidentiality of university data.

Beginning this summer, Virginia Tech will increase its adoption of two-factor authentication, adding “something you have,” to the long-time use of a password (something you know). Many people are already familiar with two-factor authentication, used by banks and for password recovery on many secure websites. By adding this second factor, it will no longer be sufficient to know a person’s password to access university data and systems.

Track progress on the University 2-Factor Authentication website.