MFA - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Cyberattacks on K-12 institutions are increasing, with school districts facing growing threats from phishing and ransomware attacks. Passwords alone are no longer sufficient to protect our accounts. To safeguard sensitive student and staff data, BC legislation mandates that we implement reasonable security measures to prevent unauthorized access to district systems.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) significantly enhances the security of your SD68 account, safeguarding your data and district systems from unauthorized access.

By requiring a second verification method, such as your mobile phone, MFA ensures that even if someone knows your password, they cannot access your accounts.

How it works: MFA requires both of the following verification methods to access your account:

1. **Something you know:** Your SD68 username and password.
2. **Something you have:** A trusted device, like your mobile phone, to confirm your identity.

Watch this YouTube video to learn more about MFA.

You will not be required to MFA when using a district computer/laptop on the district network. You may however need to MFA more often under certain circumstances, such as connecting from public Wi-Fi, using a personal device, travelling, new devices, accessing new services, or other detected risk factors. 

MFA will be required to access Microsoft 365 resources (Outlook, Teams, One Drive) and other cloud applications that require SSO using your district account. 

Yes. We recommend having at least two options registered so that you have a backup in case your primary method is inaccessible. For example, you can have the authenticator app on your phone, as well as the SMS method enabled. 

You will be prompted to register for MFA the next time you sign in. You will need to complete the MFA registration process before accessing your account.

On the Security Info section of your account (https://mysigins.microsoft.com), click on Change, next to the default sign-in method, and select the method you'd like to use as your default. 

As long as you have one available method, you can use that to remove any other method that you no longer have access to. If you do not have access to any of the sign-in/authentication methods, please contact the IT Helpdesk. You can manage your authentication methods in the Security Info area of your account at https://mysignins.microsoft.com. 

It is recommended to use the Microsoft Authenticator app. 

The Microsoft Authenticator app will work on your phone whether or not you have an internet connection. If you have an internet connection through a data plan or Wi-Fi, you will still receive push notifications. If you have no connection, you can generate a one-time password code that can be used to authenticate instead. 

If you receive a push notification for a log on that you didn't initiate, select DENY to prevent unauthorized access to your account. We also recommend that you also change your SD68 account password immediately. 

Instructions for changing your NLPS password

Contact the IT Helpdesk immediately.

The app is only used to ensure your account security and verify your identity. It is not used to monitor your activity or provide access to your device. Please view the resource below for more information:

• Microsoft Authenticator FAQ