Claiming Your NetID is Not a Trap

GW students know how to spot spam. However, for the past month, many have been confused by emails from the University seemingly asking for confidential information to secure their NetID and change their password. Some students were reluctant to make the switch.

"The password they want us to make is overly complicated," said Ben Laman-Maharg, a sophomore in the Honors Program. "And the emails they sent us to make the change seemed like spam. I had to call them to be sure that it was not spam."

According to GW's Division of Information Technology, the emails are legitimate and necessary as the university is tightening web security. The emails ask students to claim their NetID Account by accessing a linked webpage and inputting their GWid, birthday and last name. Then, students are asked to change their passwords into longer and more complicated codes that must include an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a symbol. This complicated password is to help prevent hackers from acquiring sensitive data, and even access to GW's servers. After creating the new password, all GW related log-ins are affected, from GWmail to Internet access through the GW1X or GWireless networks.

DIT's Rachel Belvins said in an email to WRGW News that the identity and access management program is the first part of a phase to "allow for simplified account creation and deactivation, password synchronization across IT applications and improved self service user account management services such as a reset process for forgotten passwords."

Ms. Belvins said that through GWToday articles and targeted emails towards users that have not yet switched, DIT will be able to meet the December 1 goal of first switching all students over to the new system so that they can focus on switching the staff then faculty.

DIT hopes to have the entire program finished by March, and they want to remind students that for more information on account claiming, the new identity and access management program, or other IT-related questions to please contact division of IT at 202-994-4948, email them at IThelp@gwu.edu or go to their website http://ITsupport.gwu.edu.