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New Employee Password Management Solution

Written by Jasmine Robinson on November 22, 2017

As we go into the Thanksgiving break, I have the opportunity to share an actual password-related email.  You’ve seen dozens of fake messages, but this is a real, legitimate email from me, Bruce Griffin – Chief Technology Officer.  I’m going to point out a few ways you can tell the difference between real and fake messages in bold below.

 

It seems like I’ve sent hundreds of emails notifying our community of PHISHING attempts to steal user names and passwords. One unfortunate downside is that it’s very difficult to communicate changes to our password process via email without alarming or confusing people. This is a “heads up” email.  We won’t make changes to the login process without giving prior notice. With that in mind, we will be making a change to how Faculty and Staff (NOT students) reset and manage passwords effective 11/27/2017.  This is ONLY for your network, email and Canvas logins. It is not a single-sign on solution and your WebSmart password will remain unaffected at this point.

 

We want to make it easier for you to reset your password or unlock your account without needing to talk to an ITS staff member directly. You will not need to do this every time you log in.   On 11/27/2017 we ask that you visit the new SMCCD Password Management page and follow the instructions to create security questions.  You’ll answer these questions when you change or reset your password, but not every time you login to an account.

 

Here’s how this will work.

 

  • First, this is NOT a phishing attempt.  You won’t be asked to click on a link in an email.  Rather, you’ll be asked to navigate to the District Home Page where there is a link for the Faculty/Staff Portal. I’ll provide detailed instructions with pictures  next week.
  • The new tool will require that you use your existing username and password to sign in, set up security questions or provide a mobile number.  You can verify that it is an actual SMCCD.EDU address in the browser address bar.
  • In the future, if you forget or need to reset your password you’ll come back to the District web site and answer your security questions or receive a verification code via text message to gain access.  Once you supply the correct answers or verification code, you can create a new password, reset or unlock your account from that page.   Again, this is not needed to login, only to make changes or reset things.
  • Remember: If you change your password you’ll need to change it on your phone or any other devices that access our email/O365 services.

 

Again, this is not a phishing attempt.  We won’t ask you to reply with your username or password, nor will we ask you to click on a link or download a file. You’ll simply have to navigate to a District Home page and follow the instructions.