Security

You can manage security-related tasks for accounts and zones from the Settings → Security page.

The following topics are described here:

Account

The account refers to the individual user account. From the Settings → Security tab, you can configure authentication for your account. 

To access the account details, go to the Settings menu (⋮) in the console.

You can disable authentication and just keep the default setting, which requires only an email address and password. You can enable email or mobile authentication, as described in this section.

Enabling Email Two-factor Authentication

You can enable email two-factor authentication (2FA) for your account.‌

1. Select Email from the Two-factor Authentication section.

2. The next time you log in to the Automox console using your email address and password, you will also need to enter the verification code that was sent to your email address
   

   

3. To disable this feature, click Disable from the same Security → Account page.

Enabling Mobile Two-factor Authentication

You can enable mobile two-factor authentication (2FA) using Google Authenticator, Authy, or another mobile app.

1. Download a TFA mobile app such as Google Authenticator or Authy.

2. Install the app and open it.

3. From the Automox console, go to Settings → Security and select Mobile from the Two-factor Authentication section.

4. From the Mobile Two-factor Authentication window, you must scan the QR code with your mobile device to pair it with the Automox console.

5. Enter the code that appears. Depending on the mobile app you are using, you might need to enter a second code.
   

   

Resetting mobile two-factor authentication

Disabling Two-factor Authentication

To disable either email or mobile two-factor authentication, click Disable from the Security → Settings page.

A code is required to complete the process of disabling two-factor authentication. 

• For Email authentication, a code is sent to the email address associated with the user account.

• For Mobile authentication, a code is sent to the authenticator app associated with the user account.

Zone

Only Zone Administrators have permission to configure the following zone security settings:

• Login Attempt Settings

• SAML (single sign-on)

• Enforce Zone-Wide Two-Factor Authentication

Login Attempt Settings

You can set the number of login attempts to the Automox platform that a user can make within a time frame before the account is locked.

1. Click Update to open the Login Attempts Configuration dialog box.

2. You can set the following:
   a. Enter the maximum number of login attempts a user can make within a set time frame.
   b. Enter a time frame in minutes. If the user exceeds the allowed number of login attempts during this time frame, the account is locked.

3. Click Update.

In this example, the user can attempt to login 5 times within a time frame of 5 minutes. If the user exceeds the number of attempts within the 5-minute time frame, the account is locked.

For assistance, contact Automox Support.

SAML-based Single Sign-on (SSO)

You can enable SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) for all of your Automox users. Automox supports SAML-authentication through Microsoft Azure.

Note: 

• It is not possible to have SAML and Zone-Wide Two-Factor Authentication enabled at the same time.

• When SAML-based SSO is enabled, you can no longer sign in using email address and password.

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is a standard for exchanging authentication data between an identity provider and a service provider. With SAML, users can use corporate credentials at a single point of authentication. There are two types of authentication flows. Automox-to-IDP and IDP-to-Automox.

Automox-to-IDP

The Automox-to-IDP authentication flow allows users to provide their email address from the Automox console login page, and be redirected to their configured Identity Provider (IDP) for authentication before being redirected back to the Automox console as the expected user.

For Automox-to-IDP, follow these steps:

1. From the Settings → Security tab in your Automox console, ensure that two-factor authentication is disabled.

   • Go to Two-factor Authentication and select the Disable button. You must confirm this with an authentication code.

   • Log in again to the console to continue.

2. Go to SAML and click Enable.

3. In the Configure SAML window, enter the following information that is provided by your Identity Provider:

   • Entity ID

   • x509

   • Login URL

4. Click Save Configuration.

   

IDP-to-Automox

The IDP-to-Automox authentication flow allows users to log into the Automox console directly from their IDP dashboard. This is a common flow in organizations that utilize more than one SSO-enabled service.

For IDP-to-Automox, follow these steps:

1. From the Settings → Security tab in your Automox console ensure that two-factor authentication is disabled.

   • To disable Two-factor Authentication, click the Disable button. You must confirm this with an authentication code.

   • Log in again to the console to continue.

2. Go to SAML and click Enable.

3. In the Configure SAML window, switch on Use XML Configuration.

4. Enter the XML Configuration information and click Save Configuration.
   

   

Enforce Zone-Wide Two-factor Authentication

To ensure all users in a zone are on the same level of security for compliance, a zone administrator can enforce two-factor authentication (2FA) for all users.

• From the Settings → Security tab, go to Enforce Zone-Wide Two-factor Authentication and click Enable.

• If a user does not have 2FA enabled already and 2FA is enforced, the user is redirected to the verification code page. A message explains that 2FA has been enabled at a zone level. The user is instructed to check the associated email account for the verification code.
  

  

• A user can switch to mobile authentication, if desired, from the Settings → Security → Accounts section. This is described in Enabling Mobile Two-factor Authentication. At this time it is not possible for an administrator to enforce mobile 2FA.

• When an administrator resets 2FA for a user account (Resetting a User Account), this always resets it back to verification by email.

Refer also to User Accounts for details about enabling and disabling 2FA for user accounts.