This page is dedicated to information regarding DUO, troubleshooting, how-tos, and other helpful information.
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What is Two-Factor Authentication (2fa)?
It’s called two-factor authentication because the user needs two factors to “authenticate” i.e. log in. Your password is an “authentication factor” i.e. it is used to confirm your identity. If I ask you to supply both a password and something else to prove your identity (the “second factor”), that’s two factor authentication.
Logging in to an ATM is 2fa: you must have the pin (the first factor) and you must have the ATM card (the second factor). If you don’t have both, you don’t log in.
The most common second factor in use today is a user’s smartphone. Most 2fa methods allow you to text a code to your smartphone or install an app on your cellphone that prompts you to accept or deny a login.
What is DUO?
DUO is a 2fa software from a company called Cisco.
Yes. In November of 2018, ITS began a phased rollout of two-factor authentication (2fa) to all TAMUSA employees and students. The System has made it a policy that all A&M institutions must implement 2fa. ( TAMUS Regulation 29.01.03, Section 5.1)
Devices that can be used as DUO devices are:
- Any device that runs Android or iOS: iPhones, Android phones/tablets, iPads.
- Any device that can receive a phone call: not-so-smart cellphones, landline/desk phones
- A select number of hardware/security tokens.
- Passcodes
Other Helpful Guides
Read our DUO Confluence to learn more about how to use DUO.