Posted Date:January 18, 2012
| Author: | Pamela Eliadis, Service Director, System Operations & Aid Delivery Management, Federal Student Aid William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: TFA Information - Two Factor Authentication Implementation Information for the COD Web Site
As explained in a January 13, 2012 Electronic Announcement on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, we are implementing a number of technology security initiatives in 2012. One of the initiatives is a security process called Two Factor Authentication (TFA). Through TFA, when logging in to certain Federal Student Aid systems, an authorized user will be required to use a traditional User ID and Password as well as provide a One-Time Password (OTP). The OTP will be generated by a registered token device that is in the physical possession of the user.
This announcement provides a high-level overview of TFA implementation for the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System planned for January 29, 2012. We present the information as follows:
TFA Implementation – COD System Information
COD Web Site Outage Information
Contact Information
TFA Implementation – COD System Information
On January 29, 2012, we will implement changes to the COD Web site to support use of TFA.
Starting January 29, 2012, all users who visit the COD Web site will see information and links about token registration and token maintenance on the COD Web site's home page and the log-in page. In an attachment to this announcement, we have included screenshots of the COD Web site screens with the new links (Screenshot #1 and #2). As explained below, most users will not need to use these links immediately and will log in as usual until we provide tokens and additional guidance.
We provided information about TFA tokens and about how we plan to distribute tokens to schools in the "TFA Token Information" section of the January 13th Electronic Announcement. More information about TFA and tokens will be provided in forthcoming guidance posted to the IFAP Web site.
Information for Authorized COD Web Site Users Who HAVE Received a Token
For an authorized user who is responsible for accessing the COD Web site and who has received a token, we provide token registration and usage information below.
When do I register my token for use with the COD Web site? An authorized user who has received a token can register it on or after January 29, 2012.
When do I use my token to access the COD Web site? An authorized user who has a registered token will use the token when prompted during the COD Web site log-in process. An authorized user will first sign in to the COD Web site using his or her User ID and Password (Screenshot #2 in the attachment). After clicking the Log-In button, the user will be presented with a new box and will enter the OTP generated by the user's token (Screenshot #3 in the attachment).
Note: If the new box does not appear, the authorized user is not yet required to use a token.
Information for Authorized COD Web Site Users Who HAVE NOT Received a Token
An authorized user who is responsible for accessing the COD Web site but who has not received a token will log in to the COD Web site as usual.
COD Web Site Outage Information
We will implement the changes to accommodate TFA during the COD Web site's routine maintenance window from 5:00 A.M. (ET) until 11:00 A.M. on Sunday, January 29, 2012. During this time, users will not be able to submit or retrieve data via the COD Web site and will not be able to access the COD Reports area of the COD Web site.
Contact Information
We appreciate your cooperation in providing safe and secure access to Federal Student Aid systems and look forward to working with the school community to implement TFA.
If you have questions about TFA or the information in this communication, contact us at TFA_Communications@ed.gov (TFA_Communications@ed.gov).
If you have questions about the COD System implementation or registering your token for use with the COD Web site, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268 for Grants or 800/848-0978 for Direct Loans. You may also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com.