For years, we’ve enjoyed the convenience of Basic Authentication, letting laptops autosave usernames and passwords.
But convenience has a cost, and Microsoft knows it.
Basic Authentication is incredibly easy to hack, putting all your valuable information at risk. 2FA (two-factor authentication) made a major step forward, forcing you to verify your login attempt across multiple devices. Now, multinational tech companies have developed better.
Enter scene: Modern Authentication (aka Modern Auth, or OAuth 2.0 token-based authorization). Starting October 1st of this year, Microsoft Office 365 (also still affectionately called Office 365) will replace Basic Auth with Modern Auth, ditching usernames and passwords. Instead, Microsoft Office 365 will provide users with login “tokens” - a code with short-term expiration.
According to Microsoft, “OAuth access tokens have a limited usable lifetime, and are specific to the applications and resources for which they are issued, so they cannot be reused. Enabling and enforcing multi factor authentication (MFA) is also simple with Modern authentication.”
Modern Auth tokens add an extra layer of security to stored information, protecting your data from cyber attacks.
But don’t worry. For some time now, Issuetrak’s updates have supported Microsoft's authentication changes. (We’ve been preparing our partners’ Issuetrak sites since Version 14.2 to facilitate incoming email processes!)
15.5 now expands its support of modern authentication, granting additional flexibility to establish secure connections between Issuetrak and Microsoft. Basically, we’ve added the ability to connect your Office 365 environment using modern authentication in outgoing email. With the 15.5 upgrade, your outgoing email will perform better without risking disruption or jeopardizing security.
All you have to do is configure your Issuetrak site’s email settings for modern authentication.
Read our release notes about Microsoft Office 365’s integration or explore our help center article for a step-by-step explanation. Of course, you can always call us for questions on configuring your settings. In any case, we’ve got you covered for the new way forward.
Luckily, at Issuetrak, we endeavor to keep you on track. We value productivity and effective efficiency for ourselves as much as for our partners. You’ve got a trusty team looking out for you - so take our advice: ACT NOW! You don’t want to be left in Microsoft’s dust, squinting for your next step, worrying where the sky is falling.
Our support team will set your site up for success - no disruptions or malfunctions in sight or on-site.
For our clients using Identity Management software, OEM and/or IEM, we can help you make the switch. Before these changes leave you locked out on your front doorstep on October 1st, contact us for assistance and we’ll prep your site for Modern Auth changes.
For our current Cloud partners, cloud-hosted sites will upgrade automatically - and upgrading is just the first step. Once upgraded, go through the process of switching your OEM settings over to the new 365 integration. This will ensure no service interruptions on your end and will keep all outbound emails flowing.
Microsoft’s changes are coming regardless. Unless you take action now, your email processing may stop. More than 95% of Issuetrak processes use inbound and/or outbound emails - so you don’t want to get hit by first impact.
If you’re using Office 365, it’s important you upgrade Issuetrak as soon as possible to version 15.5 which supports outbound modern authentication with Microsoft Office 365. Renewing your subscription is easy. Just reach out to our technical support team or your account manager.
Once upgraded, go through the process of switching your OEM settings over to the new integration. This will ensure no service interruptions on your end and will keep all outbound emails flowing.
Upgrading your on-premise Issuetrak site has worthwhile perks, such as with Issuetrak’s Maintenance Plus subscription featuring unlimited technical phone/email support and regular release updates about our newest software. Send us an email and we’ll get you situated with the right hosted option for your company.
Alternatively, our Cloud hosted option will alleviate your stress, giving you our latest updates automatically in real time. Reach out directly to your account manager or sales@issuetrak.com for more information.
Contact our Support Team for assistance and we’ll prepare your company’s site for the switch from Basic Authentication to Modern Authentication and continued support for identity management and incoming/outgoing email functionality.
Security is important to us. So we’re ready to support you, keep your company on track, and give you peace of mind for your data’s security on the road ahead–a Modern Authentication future.