LDAP Passwords Take On a New Face

Sam Houston in the Site Access Office puts a personal and friendly face on the process of getting an LDAP password for new Lab employees.

“In the past new employees called the Help Desk to get their password,” said Josie Galvan, the Help Desk’s Team Lead. “We were challenged with verifying their phone number in the directory because they would call from a co-workers phone, or be telecommuting or on campus. We had no real way of confirming their identity.”

Today passwords are distributed face to face at the same time that new employees receive their badge and parking permit, making distribution more secure. The pilot program, which began in March, withstood the test of the high volume summer months when the Lab hosts a large number of students and guest. Last month, the program was evaluated and made permanent.

“We verify a person’s identity as part of the normal flow of processing their badge,” said Sam, who is in charge of badges at the Lab. “It fits in beautifully and doesn’t add any extra time to the process.”

This allows new employees to immediately access their email, LETS and other web services, which require LDAP authentication. And the Help Desk can redirect their resources to the increasing threats of spyware and cyber security.

Everyone will receive a password at badging, except those who are visitors for less than 30 days or those who are not yet in the online directory.

“It’s not just for new folks,” Sam said. “Any employee can come down to site access in Building 65A and I’ll give them a new temporary password and then they can change it to a permanent password.”

Before Sam joined the Lab as an Allied-Barton Security Services employee, he worked in marketing and security. On the side, he currently runs his own marketing consulting business and does marketing for the Salvation Army pro bono. He also served as a Navy corpsman for the Marines during the Vietnam War and received three Purple Heart medals.

“I was wounded three times in three months,” Sam said. “Bullets hurt.”