{"id":54267,"date":"2024-10-17T15:33:29","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T19:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/research\/?p=54267"},"modified":"2024-10-17T15:33:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T19:33:29","slug":"nsf-moving-to-multifactor-authentication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/research\/2024\/10\/17\/nsf-moving-to-multifactor-authentication\/","title":{"rendered":"NSF Moving to Multifactor Authentication"},"content":{"rendered":"

Effective on and after October 27, 2024,\u00a0<\/strong>NSF is requiring multifactor authentication (MFA) for its Research.gov<\/a> portal. All users will be required to complete a one-time MFA enrollment process and then use MFA to sign into Research.gov.<\/p>\n

Training resources, including how-to guides and frequently asked questions (FAQs) will be available on the new\u00a0About Signing Into Research.gov\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>page, located under the Research.gov Help page<\/a> starting October 27. This new page will assist the research community with enrolling in MFA and learning how to sign into Research.gov with the selected MFA method.<\/p>\n

For full details, please see NSF 25-011<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is MFA and how does it work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MFA is a layered security measure that requires two or more authentication methods to verify a user\u2019s identity. Per NSF, MFA will increase the security of the Research.gov portal because even if one authentication method such as a password becomes compromised, unauthorized users will be unable to meet the second authentication requirement and will be prevented from accessing Research.gov.<\/p>\n

Here are the three main types of MFA and examples of each:<\/p>\n