Office of Foreign Assets Compliance (OFAC) and Duo MFA

In order to comply with U.S. regulations, our MFA provider, Duo Security, blocks authentications from users whose IP (Internet Protocol) address originates in a country or region subject to economic and trade sanctions enforced by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

If you’re attempting to log in to a Duo-protected UC Santa Cruz application while located in a country or region subject to OFAC restrictions, you will be blocked from completing your login and will receive an error message.

Web-based applications will display the following error message: “Access denied. Duo Security does not provide services in your current location.” Other applications may display a generic failed login message.

The restriction is based on location, not your identity, and uses the IP address of the login attempt. Providing a phone number to Duo with a different country code will not allow you to bypass the restriction.

OFAC restrictions relevant to Duo currently apply to the following countries or regions

• Cuba
• North Korea
• Iran
• Sudan
• Syria
• Crimea region
• Sevastopol region
• Donetsk region
• Luhansk region

Duo offers a support article that is updated with currently blocked regions and countries.

If you need to log in to a UC Santa Cruz application from a country or region that is subject to OFAC restrictions, you can request assistance from the ITS Support Center for activities that comply with the OFAC restrictions. Use the Duo MFA Support request form and continue to the form as a guest. For account verification, please be prepared to provide your full name, CruzID, an alternate email address, as well as your Student ID or Employee ID number, if available.

Your request will be evaluated in accordance with current government regulations. Plan accordingly with the expectation that you will not be able to access protected applications immediately or consistently while in restricted areas. These applications include but are not limited to UC Santa Cruz email, Canvas, and MyUCSC.

If you’re joining UC Santa Cruz from one of these impacted countries or regions as a new student, you may need support to complete required tasks prior to arriving in the United States. Request assistance and we’ll be happy to help.

For those traveling to the above countries for university business, research or personal reasons, it is important to contact the Export Controls office prior to travel at export@ucsc.edu. Many of these countries are subject to sanctions and approvals/licenses may be required.