GatorLink Password Management Policy March 31, 2004

What is GatorLink? Under development since 1996 Conceived as a single sign on solution – the electronic equivalent of the Gator 1 card “GatorLink” is an adjective – used to describe a collection of services: – –Web hosting –Dial-up –Authentication services for web servers –Kerberos authentication services –Username and password

PeopleSoft PeopleSoft will be the system of record for information about people (directory information). Directory services will be implemented in PeopleSoft Campus Community by 2006 PeopleSoft will be the system of record for identity management PeopleSoft will be the system of record for authorization information

PeopleSoft and GatorLink GatorLink usernames and passwords adopted as the university standard for enterprise authentication GatorLink used to authenticate access to the portal, and all portal-based services GatorLink used to authenticate access to Cognos and Enterprise Reporting GatorLink used to authenticate access to ISIS and Admin Menu Single sign-on via GLAuth – cookie-based system developed at UF

Password Policy Needs One size does not fit all. The same password policy used for undergraduate students would not be appropriate for central payroll. Simultaneously heard that GatorLink password policy was too “strict” and “not strict enough” 75% of all Help Desk calls involve GatorLink passwords General need to improve security Need to recognize diversity of use of GatorLink user base (>100,000)

The Idea Have multiple GatorLink password policies Tie GatorLink password policy to the authorizations of a user. –If a user is authorized to do work requiring high levels of security, have a highly secure password policy. –If a user is not authorized to do such work, do not require a highly secure password policy In all cases, insure strong passwords and best practices for password management

The Process Define a password policy as a collection of attribute/value pairs (eg, Expiration in days = 90) Create a sufficient number of password policies, each with the same attributes to span the needs from casual to highly secure ITAC-DI&ADM and ITAC-ISM recommend attributes and values Refine, review, present, discuss, refine, review, present, finalize

The Policy The University of Florida (UF) is committed to a secure information technology environment in support of its missions. With the implementation of new integrated, real-time computer systems and single sign-on accessibility via the myUFL portal, the need for a strong password policy is greater than ever. The GatorLink username and password is the University standard username and password for authentication for all new information systems. The University uses a role-based approach for providing access to these systems. Each person affiliated with UF has one or more security roles. Each security role has an associated password policy. If an individual has several roles, with conflicting password policies, the “strongest” policy applies. This policy is guided by the following principles: Five levels of password policy are necessary, each with a different set of requirements for password creation and reset. (See Attachment A). The assignment of a password policy is based on an individual’s security role(s) and is not an automatic result of an affiliation or staff position. Passwords must include three of the following four elements—upper case letters, lower case letters, digits and punctuation. Passwords may not contain words found in a dictionary. Passwords will expire during UF Help Desk business hours. GatorLink passwords and security roles—and the resulting association of password policy to a user—are held in the PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal system (myUFL) and managed by UF Bridges

The Matrix

Authentication Architecture

Implementing the Policy Software analysis and design began in January Development of code for self-service reset, management of questions, Help Desk functionality in Feb Active Directory synch in Feb Additional coding in March Testing of software in April Production go-live May 5, 2004

The Go-Live On May 5, GatorLink users with P4 and P5 will have their passwords expire and will come under the new policy All other users will be grandfathered in. Passwords will expire under current policy. When password expires, password will come under new policy. Password changes will be done through the portal (“My Account/Change Password”) Live password synchronization will be in place – a password updated at myUFL will update in Kerberos, AD and NDS Self-service password reset will be strongly encouraged

Future Work By November 5, all GatorLink accounts will be under the new policy LDAP will no longer be used to authenticate the portal 2-factor authentication standards for LAN, web and enterprise authentication

Managing the Policy ITAC-ISM and ITAC-DI&ADM will continue to have a strong role in the management of the policy. ITAC makes final recommendation Dr. Frazier chooses final policy

Effect of the Policy Users will have strong passwords User password policy will be determined by user’s security roles Users at P4 and P5 will be required to have security training Users will be able to use their single GatorLink credential for authentication to enterprise, web and LAN services Users will have consistent password policy across services GLAuth services will be unaffected

More Information Subscribe to the IT News pagelet in the portal Subscribe to the UF Bridges pagelet in the portal Additional information sessions for department administrators, support personnel in April Policies are posted at