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Manufacturing defect causes some M Keys to be replaced
M Keys with serial numbers starting with "E" have a manufacturing defect that will cause them to fail prematurely.
In late August replacement M Keys were sent out to anyone who had activated an "E" M Key. Most users have already activated their replacement M Keys. If you have not yet activated your replacement M Key, please do so as soon as possible by going to www.umn.edu/myaccount.
The M Key contains a battery so the defective "E" M Key should be placed in the battery recycling receptacle in your building.
The University has implemented a two-factor authentication system on its enterprise applications (e.g., CS PeopleSoft, EFS PeopleSoft, EDMS and the Data Warehouse) and for the underlying servers and databases. The passwords that these systems used were replaced by a strong form of authentication known as "two-factor authentication." As the name states you need two factors to authenticate: 1) something you have, and 2) something you know. At the University the "something you have" is a hardware token we call the M Key. The M Key provides a one-time password which you will combine with a 4-digit PIN, the "something you know" factor.
Implementation began in July 2007 and was completed with the go-live of the Enterprise Financial System (EFS) in July 2008. Additional systems may be added over time.
If you have a visual, physical, or other type of impairment that prevents
your effective use of the
M Key, alternatives are available. Please contact
Mark Powell, OIT Data Security, 5-8598,
m-powe@umn.edu.
FAQ in the spotlight - 9/24/2008
Your PIN (Personal Identification Number) does not expire, so you won’t be asked to change it. If you want to change your PIN, you can change it at www.umn.edu/myaccount. If you think your PIN has been compromised you should change it.