University Information Technology (UIT) is advising of current and upcoming changes to York-provided services Zoom and Duo (two-factor authentication) as a result of the situation in Ukraine.
These services are now or will be unavailable to individuals attempting to authenticate from several countries and regions restricted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) — a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Treasury Department.
As of March 10, 2022, the locations below are impacted by this change. York Zoom users trying to connect from any of these countries are most likely to be impacted. Please be aware that other service providers may implement similar sanctions at any time.
- Cuba
- North Korea
- Iran
- Sudan
- Syria
- Crimea region
- Sevastopol region
- Donetsk region
- Luhansk region
Why is this happening?
Some U.S.-based service providers used by York University are blocking authentications from individuals whose IP address originate in a country or region in compliance with these sanctions.
What does this mean for the York community?
- As of March 10, 2022, the Zoom web conferencing platform is restricted to certain locations. More information is available here: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/203806119-Restricted-countries-or-regions
- Duo two-factor authentication (2FA) will begin implementing restrictions to their service between May 5 and May 12, 2022.
With those dates in mind, individuals whose IP address originates from those countries or regions attempting to authenticate to one of these services may see an “Access denied” or other login failure message.
If you are a member of the York community and are experiencing service access issues, please contact York UIT (email askit@yorku.ca) for support.
Remember to follow these recommendations to keep Zoom meetings secure. UIT will continue to monitor and communicate any additional impacted services.
