Overview
Audience: Faculty, Staff, Students
Passkeys are an authentication method used to securely sign in to online accounts and applications. Instead of using a password, passkeys verify a user’s identity through a device‑based method such as a PIN, fingerprint, or facial recognition.
Passkeys are an extension of the Microsoft Authenticator app, which should be installed on your smart phone. If you do not already have the Authenticator app installed, you will need to download it to your device in order to use passkey.
Why Are We Using Passkeys?
Passkeys are being adopted to strengthen cybersecurity and reduce the risk of phishing, unauthorized access, and data breaches. As part of IT Services’ ongoing security efforts, the university is transitioning from traditional multi‑factor authentication (MFA) to passkey. Passkeys provide stronger protection than traditional MFA and offer enhanced resistance to phishing and other cyber threats.
How are passkeys More Secure?
Passkeys require you to physically be at the device you are trying to log in to. There is no password or code you can give to a bad actor that would give them access to your account.
Who is Required to Use Passkey?
All university faculty, staff, and student employees are required to use passkey to authenticate when accessing university resources. Students are also strongly encouraged to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator. Faculty, staff, or student employees who are unable or unwilling to use passkey must use YubiKey as their MFA method.
For information on Yubikey, please see the About Yubikey Knowledge Base Article.
When Will Passkey be Required?
All IT staff will be required to set up and begin using passkey by May 29th, 2026. All other faculty, staff, and student employees will have until April 2027 to set up a passkey and begin using it. After these dates, you will no longer be able to access your account until you set up passkey.
Access
Adding a Microsoft Passkey takes about 10 minutes to complete. For instructions on how to set up a passkey, please visit the Using a passkey as your MFA method knowledge base article.
Training
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