Whole School News

Our focus on Cyber Security

We are focussed on improving our cyber security at Great Southern Grammar, making sure our IT systems are as safe as they can be. This year we have enabled all our staff IT accounts for multifactor authentication (MFA). What this means is that these accounts are secured not only with a password but also an additional ‘factor’ which might be a smartphone app or secured through biometrics such as facial recognition.

To continue securing IT systems we will be enabling all parent and community accounts for MFA. This change will occur before the end of 2023, and we will be providing plenty of notifications and support. Before the change is enabled, you will have the opportunity to pre-configure your account and seek out support from the IT team if required.

What’s changing?

The first change is to our parent and community user IDs. Currently, you are logging in with your unique ID number, which might look a bit like this:

99999

Your unique ID will be updated to append our community domain to the end. The new user IDs will now look like this:

99999@community.gsg.wa.edu.au

While any change does take getting used to, adding the community domain will allow us to use our Microsoft cloud technologies to provide a higher level of security to your account at GSG.

You will have two options when setting up MFA – one is to use an authenticator app on your smartphone, like Microsoft Authenticator, that allows you to confirm your identity. The other is to use an SMS code sent to your phone to confirm your identity.

How can I get prepared?

To set up your account for MFA in preparation for the change, you can go to https://mysignins.microsoft.com/security-info and enter your new user ID. You will then be prompted to configure MFA.

We have created some helpful guides available on our support portal to help you get set up.

• If you log in using a smartphone and would like to use the Microsoft Authenticator app follow these instructions: Setting up Multifactor Authentication on a mobile device (smartphone or tablet) – Great Southern Grammar - Support (gsg.wa.edu.au)
   
• If you log in using a PC or Mac and would like to use the Microsoft Authenticator app, follow these instructions: Setting up Multifactor Authentication on PC or Mac – Great Southern Grammar - Support (gsg.wa.edu.au)
   
• If you would like to use an SMS code for verification, or have a mobile phone without smartphone features, follow these instructions: Setting up Multifactor Authentication using SMS verification – Great Southern Grammar - Support (gsg.wa.edu.au)

For additional support, please contact the IT team by emailing support@gsg.wa.edu.au or calling 9844 0333.

Mr Kieran Bailey | Head of IT Services