News and Announcements

SERVICE UPDATE: Duo Security for Google and Microsoft Environments Started May 26, 2022

Posted: 2022-05-12 13:05:40   Expiration: 2022-08-31 13:05:40

Disclaimer: This news item was originally posted on 2022-05-12 13:05:40. Its content may no longer be timely or accurate.

Small changes made on how you login to your Rice Google and Microsoft accounts.

On May 26, 2022, two small changes were made to how you login to your Rice Google and Microsoft accounts.

  1. Now, all new logins to Rice’s Google services use Rice’s NetID-based Web Single Sign-On (WebSSO). This replaceed the default Google login.
  2. Also, all new logins prompt for Duo Security authentication, our multifactor authentication (MFA) system, for both Rice Google and Rice Microsoft accounts.

These are the same login services used for other systems at Rice. This does not change how Google and Microsoft services are used after you have logged in. This is already in place for many Rice administrative areas and everyone hired after November 1, 2021.

This change is an important step in protecting our accounts from the constant attacks we observe against our environment.

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Why are we making these changes?

Our accounts are continually targeted by attackers for a variety of reasons, from nation state espionage to criminals stealing information to sell or extort. Using Duo with our accounts and services adds a significant hurdle to gaining access to our private resources even if an attacker guesses or steals an account password.

What does the change actually look like?

While the change provides a significant positive impact to the security of our Google and Microsoft-based services, the actual change to how we use the services is actually quite small. Specifically, the change only impacts the initial logins to Rice’s Google and Microsoft environments, not how the environments are used. Once logged in, Gmail’s interface remains the same, as does Drive, Calendar, and other Google webapps. Clients accessing Rice’s Google and Microsoft services will also continue to work as they currently do once logged in.

When did these changes take place?

May 26, 2022

What if I have more questions?

You can contact the OIT Help Desk.

Information about Web Single Sign-On and Duo Security:

-- Rice U: Liz Brigman