The following message appeared on UW Health’s U-Connect intranet. The original can be found here.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a core identity defensive tool. In 2022, UW Health will apply MFA to additional systems and locations. Staff who have not already enrolled in UW Health’s Microsoft Authenticator application can contact the UW Health Service Desk at (608) 265-7777 to request an MFA reset and then follow the enrollment instructions.
- Starting in late January and into February, MFA will be required for UW Health Citrix users from additional locations outside the UW Health network, including SMPH and all of the UW–Madison campus.
- This means that UW Health Citrix users who are SMPH employees will see the MFA prompt from Citrix when they are in their SMPH-provided workspace, in addition to when trying to log in remotely.
- Later in 2022, UW Health will enable MFA for Oracle EPM, Oracle ERP, U-Connect, and U-Learn. More information will be shared in future communications about the affected applications and when they will be enabled for MFA.
Additional Background
Expansion of identity defensive tools is necessary because the healthcare industry is a desirable target for malicious actors, who can sell medical records on the black market for a higher profit than social security numbers or passwords. To combat this risk, UW Health is investing in additional staff and systems to continuously enhance our defensive capabilities.
UW Health’s cybersecurity strategy leverages technical controls that do not impact you, our customers, whenever possible. Where risks exist that can impact your identity, changes are required that impact everyone.
For questions, please contact the UW Health Service Desk at (608) 265-7777.