When you are away from the UiO campus, it is more difficult for IT support to help you. This is especially true in cases where you need to change your password or reset your two-factor authentication, and have been unable to do so yourself using BankID.
The general rule is that IT support cannot give you a new password or reset two-factor authentication for you unless you can physically show up.
The reason for this is that there are no good methods to confirm your identity over phone or email. Theoretically, anyone could create a Gmail address in your name and ask for help in resetting a password or two-factor authentication. Advanced scammers can also spoof phone numbers or may already have taken over your UiO email account. If these scammers gain control of two-factor authentication for your account, they will have full access to your data and be able to use your account to gain more access to UiO services and systems. Several serious security incidents in the world in recent years have started with scammers pretending to be someone they are not, and then taking over two-factor authentication for a user's account.
UiO accounts need to meet high security standards, and so we operate by the principle that password resets and two-factor authentication resets are only done for verified individuals.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you can log in to UiO services when you are traveling. Please go through these points before you leave:
- Make sure your password does not expire during your trip. If something goes wrong during a password change, it is better to be able to physically show up at IT support.
- Confirm that your two-factor authentication works, and that you can log in to the services you need while traveling. Read more about two-factor authentication here.
- Double-check that your BankID works. BankID is necessary if you need to reset two-factor authentication yourself.
- Keep your phone close and secure. If you lose it, you also lose two-factor authentication and BankID.
- Consider bringing a physical BankID device as a fallback, if it is absolutely necessary to log in to UiO services while traveling.