Dear students, parents and SIS staff

Why MFA is necessary now – and how you can prepare at home without stress.

In recent years, our digital school life has grown significantly: email, Teams, OneDrive, Office apps, and many other Microsoft 365 services are central to teaching and collaboration.

At the same time, attacks on globally known platforms are increasing significantly – mainly because usernames and passwords are increasingly falling into the wrong hands through phishing and malware.

To prevent a “stolen” password from automatically leading to account access, we are introducing multi-factor authentication (MFA) in private environments.

MFA means that in addition to the password, a second confirmation is required (e.g., via an authenticator app or the Proton app). This greatly reduces account takeovers and helps ensure that SIS platforms remain accessible to everyone.

What specifically is changing?

School devices (managed by SIS)

SIS laptops and SIS desktop PCs are exempt from MFA – both at school and at home. Login will continue to work as usual.

Private/unmanaged devices (e.g., at home)

For private devices or devices not managed by SIS (e.g., private laptop/tablet/smartphone, BYOD), MFA is required when accessing SIS Microsoft 365.

Important: To ensure you can work at home without interruption, we strongly recommend that you set this up now.

Since MFA is already active, please set up your private mobile devices at school if possible (MFA/Authenticator or Proton app).

Because MFA is disabled at school, this can usually be done without interruption.

What do you need to do now? (Recommendation: allow 5–10 minutes)

Option A (recommended): Microsoft Authenticator on your smartphone

This is the simplest and most flexible option – even when you're on the go.

Quick guide:

1. Open myprofile.microsoft.com in the browser on your school computer
2. Go to Security info → Add sign-in method
3. Select “Microsoft Authenticator”
4. Install Microsoft Authenticator (App Store / Play Store) on your smartphone.
5. In the app: Work or School Account → Scan a QR code
6. Scan the QR code on the screen and complete the test (confirm the number on the screen on your phone and wait for the confirmation in your browser).

-->  You can find detailed step-by-step instructions in the Knowledge Base in the article “How to install the authenticator”.
 

Option B: No smartphone? Alternative authenticator app on PC/Mac (e.g., for students)

If a smartphone is not possible, you can use an alternative authenticator app on your private Windows PC or Mac (recommended by SIS: Proton Authenticator).

Quick guide (principle):

1. Again via myprofile.microsoft.com → Security info → Add sign-in method
2. Select “Microsoft Authenticator”
3. Select “set up different authenticator app”
4. Select “Can't scan the QR code” and use Secret Key + Issuer
5. Enter Secret Key and Issuer in the app, then confirm the code in the browser.

--> The complete instructions can be found in the Knowledge Base in the article “How to install an alternative authenticator app on your personal computer”.
 

Tips to ensure everything runs smoothly at home

• Always use the latest app version from the app stores (MS Authenticator, TEAMS, and Outlook)

• Set up before next weekend (if possible, at school for home use – MFA is not required at school)
• Allow notifications from the Authenticator app (otherwise you will not notice login requests).
• If necessary, set up an alternative authenticator app (Proton) on your personal laptop.

Help & Support

If something doesn't work (e.g., new cell phone, no longer have access, codes are rejected), please contact local IT support at your location – we will help you quickly.

New Ticket - Support | SIS Swiss International Schools

Thank you for your understanding and support – by activating MFA on your private devices, you are making an important contribution to the security of our entire SIS community.

Best regards

Your SIS GROUP IT

--> FAQ Conditional Access: