In one of my posts I discussed Duo authentication. In the post I mentioned that there are inconveniences in this method of cyber security. The sentiment regarding Duo is fairly agreed upon. Many people have questioned if there are alternative methods to keep Ohio Northern University accounts safe.
That is why I would like to discuss an email sent by a
member of ONU’s Student Senate on November 9th at 11:09am. I believe
this email is a wonderful example of poor thought and execution when sending an
email about a sensitive topic.
The subject line of the email is "Are You Tired of Using Your Phone to Log in to Duo??" I could see how the student may be trying to convey relatability and get attention. The word "tired" and adding two question marks is odd. Is this email truly going to be a professional suggestion? I do not believe concerned students are simply "tired" of using Duo.
The student sending the email states the reason for Duo that
I was hesitant on mentioning. “While we understand that many people are
frustrated by it [Duo], it is necessary to prevent the university's insurance
premiums from drastically increasing.” They admit that it was not out of
concern for student and staff’s safety, but to save money. I could not help but
laugh. That is certainly not the icing on the cake though.
The student goes on to promote an alternate way to log in to
Duo. “We’d like to let you know of a promotion that is ongoing that allows you
to use a hardware authenticator to log in to Duo instead. To receive this
promotion, all you need to do is create an account with Cloudflare then follow the steps to claim your
discount code. The code may take a few days to be sent to you, so be patient.
It will reduce the cost to $10 for the USB-A version and $12 for the USB-C
version. After you receive your device, you can set it up as you would add any
other device through Duo. From then on, all you need to do is plug it in to
your device (or tap it to your phone, if your phone and browser support it) and
it will automatically log you in.”
To remind you, the complaints about Duo circle around inconvenience
for academic success. I am confused on how this method is any better. College
costs enough money and time. The message that I am getting from this email is “If
you hate Duo so much go pay for this other method to use the same program.”
That is how I personally am interpreting the email and do
not believe the student who sent it had any ill intent. Rather, we can learn
from this proposed alternative and the email conveying it as what not to do. If this email absolutely had to be sent these are some
suggestions that I would give the student.
-
Take accountability and be honest when stating
the flaws. “For these people” sounds like a blame.
-
State the steps of Cloudflare in the email. This will help the students judge the alternative before clicking on an unknown link.
-
Do not add “So be patient.” This also sounds
like a blame.
-
Refrain from the word “it” as much as possible.
I believe it was good decision to let the ONU community know
the truth on why Duo has been put in place. It is nice to know that the cyber
security program’s purpose is to save money and not to improve the safety of
the ONU community.
This is hilarious to read. I saw them email and immediately disregarded it when it said "buy this thing to do the exact same thing you were doing but with more steps." But I never thought this much about it and your points make it so much better. I know the senate member was trying their best, but it fell short and may have just increased student's irritation with the system's implementation further.
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