Hi Everyone,
In our continuing efforts to provide a safe and secure computing environment here at Shaw, we are implementing additional security for our VPN system. We will be using the Microsoft MFA (which we currently use to login to our Microsoft accounts on the internet) which we implemented last year and using it to secure our VPN connections as well. This will increase our security and make the VPN even easier to use day to day.
When will the work be completed:
We are currently scheduling this work for next Wednesday March 1st at 10am. There will be no interruption to your workday as this work is all done by us on our backend servers.
How the VPN will work:
After we implement the changes, when you click to open your VPN connection the FortiClient window will open. Instead of entering your username and password in this window, you would click on the “SAML Login” button.
You will then see another window open asking you to login same as your Microsoft login. After entering your username and password, then using your phone to confirm your MFA (text message, MS authenticator, etc.) you will be logged into the VPN.
What changes need to be made:
To implement this change there are settings on each computer that we will need to adjust. If you are at the office on Wednesday during the change these will be automatically switched for you. There will be nothing else you need to do, and your new VPN connection will be ready to go.
If you are not online at the time, we will be sending out a quick set of instructions in the next few days on how to make the adjustments manually. Making the changes manually is just a few clicks but if you chose you can submit a ticket to the helpdesk for assistance and the team can walk you through getting it setup. After 10am on Wednesday this change must be completed on your computer for you to be able to login to the VPN so please plan accordingly to ensure the change is made at your earliest convenience.
We would like to thank everyone for your understanding and patience during these ongoing security upgrades. We are doing our best to ensure we are staying safe online with as little disruption as possible to your daily work lives.
If anyone has any questions or concerns around this implementation, or any IT related topic in general please feel free to reach out to Shaw IT Services helpdesk (servicedesk@shawgroupltd.com) 1-866-742-9487.
Thanks,
Steve