Introduction of multi-factor authentication (MFA)
2025-08-19
Access to Leuphana's IT services using your Leuphana account will in future be secured by means of multi-factor authentisation. In addition to your Leuphana account password, this procedure uses an additional factor to verify your identity.
Most successful hacker attacks on organisations – companies, government agencies and, unfortunately, often universities – begin with a compromised account. Multi-factor authentication therefore represents an enormous security gain for the university. General information on MFA can be found on the website of the Federal Office for Information Security.
At Leuphana, two factors in particular come into play in this context:
- Security Key: The security key is a hardware key that is inserted into the USB port of the computer or communicates wirelessly with end devices via NFC (near-field communication), e.g. mobile phones or tablets. Security keys currently offer the most secure authentication method.
- Microsoft Authenticator App: The app is usually installed on a mobile device (e.g. mobile phone) and enables authentication to be confirmed via push notification and by entering a randomly generated number. No personal data is exchanged during this process.
There are other methods available (e.g. master key, telephone method) that work just as well and are just as secure, but we do not recommend them for various reasons.
Employees receive a security key with their IT equipment and can use the Authenticator app as an additional option. This means that authentication is still possible even if the security key is not immediately available. Of course, employees are not obliged to use their private devices for authentication for Leuphana services. Security keys must be returned at the end of employment (similar to an office key).
Employee-like persons with a Leuphana account, such as lecturers, visiting professors or emeritus professors, do not receive any IT equipment from the university and must therefore use the Authenticator app.
Students use the Authenticator app to log in to Leuphana's IT services. If students are unable to use the Authenticator app, e.g. because they cannot or do not want to use a mobile phone, they can borrow a security key from the MIZ device lending service for one semester at a time.
On the following pages, you will find instructions on how to set up the MFA procedure with the security key and the authenticator app: