Dear Colleagues,
Please see the message below from NIH regarding the switch to two-factor authentication in order to access the eRA Modules (Commons, ASSIST, etc.) that will be required starting later this year in September. It’s recommended that you make the switchover now to help ease the transition period.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the ERA Team (era@research.uci.edu).
Thank you,
The ERA Team
eRA Reminder: Switch Early to the New Secure Two-Factor Authentication Required to Access eRA Modules
Users of eRA Commons, ASSIST, Internet Assisted Review (IAR) and Commons Mobile are encouraged to begin their switchover to the new two-factor authentication (2FA) login method required to access eRA modules before the mandatory deadline of September 15, 2021 for all users. The authentication will help ensure the security of your personal and confidential information in these systems.
Users can currently access eRA modules in one of two ways:
·eRA credentials (username and password)
·Login.gov
Effective September 15, 2021, all external users will be required to access eRA modules using a 2FA compliant login method. At this time, login.gov is the only 2FA compliant login method.
- Use of eRA credentials will no longer be supported after September 15, 2021
eRA will continue to support eRA credentials until login.gov is made mandatory for all external users on September 15, 2021. However, if you are a reviewer who has been transitioned to require the use of login.gov prior to that date (as explained below) then the use of eRA credentials will not be permitted once that transition occurs.
More information will be provided at a later date.
Transition of Reviewers to Login.gov
The new secure two-factor authentication login method requires users to create an account at login.gov, a centralized government portal, and associate their eRA credentials (Commons or ASSIST account) with it. The user must initiate the process from eRA Commons or ASSIST by clicking the login.gov login option on the Commons or ASSIST home screen, which will then redirect the user to login.gov. Users only need to do this association one time.
Reviewers have already begun the transition to using login.gov to access the IAR module via eRA Commons in a phased manner. Reviewers with meetings starting on February 1 and beyond had their IAR accounts transitioned to require the use of login.gov on December 14, 2020. The transition will continue daily, with reviewers migrated to login.gov meeting by meeting, until all reviewers are using login.gov.
IMPORTANT: Make sure your eRA Commons account is active and you know your account password; also ensure that you not are not using old bookmarked URLs to access eRA Commons as it may interfere with the login.gov process. The URL for eRA Commons is https://public.era.nih.gov/commons/
Resources
- Guide Notice NOT-OD-21-040
- Web page: Two-Factor Authentication: Accessing eRA Modules via login.gov
- Two-factor authentication video tutorials:
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- eRA Reminder: Transition Early to Use of Login.gov to Access eRA Commons, ASSIST, IAR and Commons Mobile – 01/11/21
- eRA Information: Required Use of Login.gov to Access eRA Commons, ASSIST, IAR and Commons Mobile Coming in 2021 – 12/14/20
- eRA Reminder: Two-Factor Authentication Login Option Available Today – 04/08/20
- eRA Enhancement: Two Factor Authentication Login Option Coming to eRA Modules – 04/06/20
Help
- If you run into issues with login.gov or associating your login.gov account with your eRA account, please contact the eRA Service Desk at https://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html.
- You can also refer to login.gov for additional help at https://www.login.gov/help/