How to setup MFA on custom accounts

Staff

How to setup MFA on custom accounts

A custom account can serve as a central point of contact for a faculty, department or team within the University. A custom account has a primary account owner and any number of account users. It may also have some additional account owners. With a custom account, several Monash staff members will use a single account.

To log into a custom account with multi-factor authentication (MFA), each owner or user will first need to install the Google Authenticator app on their smartphone. The primary account owner may also install the Okta Verify app for MFA if preferred.

User type	Okta Verify app	Google Authenticator app
Primary account owner	Yes	Yes
Additional account owner	No	Yes
Users of the account	No	Yes

Primary account owner, additional account owners and account users

A primary account owner can guide a group of additional account owners and account users through the set-up steps, or simply share the printed QR code with individuals so that they can set up MFA on their own.

If you’re the primary account owner of a custom account, follow these steps:
1. Ask each additional account owner and account user to install the Google Authenticator app on their smartphone:
  - iOS – Google Authenticator on the App Store
  - Android – Google Authenticator on Google Play.
2. Log into the Monash identity portal and click Setup for Google Authenticator.
3. Print the generated QR code and store it in a safe place.
  - Make sure to store only a hard copy – never store soft copies of this QR code.
  - Treat this QR code with the same caution you’d take with the account password.
4. Use the printed QR code to:
  1. register anyone who missed the group set-up session
  2. register future additional account owners and users.
5. Ask everyone to open Google Authenticator on their smartphone, tap the + icon, then tap Scan barcode.
6. Ask everyone to click Continue on the sign in page.
7. Make sure everyone enters the 6 digit code from Google Authenticator to finalise the setup process. (If they miss this step, Google Authenticator won’t be set up correctly and they won’t be able to use it to log in.)
1. Ask each additional account owner and account user to install the Google Authenticator app on their smartphone:
  - iOS – Google Authenticator on the App Store
  - Android – Google Authenticator on Google Play.
2. Open Google Authenticator and tap the + icon, then tap Scan barcode.
3. Scan the printed QR code you’ve been given by the account owner to complete the MFA set-up.
Don’t remove the Google Authenticator app from your smartphone – you’ll need it to log into the custom account.
Whether you’re online or offline, you can use the Google Authenticator app to log in with a six-digit code, which acts as a one-time pin.
1. On the login screen, enter your custom account email address then click Next. Enter your password and click Sign In. (If you’re logged into your Monash account, you’ll need to use a new private window.)
2. Click Select next to Google Authenticator.
3. Switch from your web browser to the Google Authenticator app on your smartphone and get the current six-digit code for the custom account – a new one appears every 30 seconds.
4. Switch back to your web browser to enter the code and click Verify to log in.