Columbia Website Authentication

Pamacea is no longer a supported method of website authentication at the University and is now a deprecated service.

Website owners are advised to switch to the more secure ‘mod_auth_cas’, which provides more security and safety from compromise or defacing of your website.

Background

pamacea was an authentication option utilized for websites hosted on https://wwww1.columbia.edu ("www1"), starting in 2003.

The www1 servers are being scheduled for an operating system upgrade.

Web Servers on these hosts will not have pamacea after the update, and attempts to log in using pamacea will fail.

 

Action to be Taken

Websites using pamacea may switch now to mod_auth_cas for an equivalent, but for much more secure login. See here for instructions on migrating to mod_auth_cas.

Like pamacea, mod_auth_cas is an Apache web server "module", or program extension, but unlike pamacea, mod_auth_cas uses CAS for logins.

CUIT Security recommends use of standard CAS logins with a UNI to control access to Columbia Websites and keep them more secure.

 

Testing, Maintenance, and Support

CAS Login setup and testing would be facilitated by the Identity & Access Management team. Request in a ServiceNow ticket

Ongoing support and maintenance requests are handled by Web Collaboration & Infrastructure (WebInfra) Submit a ServiceNow ticket for assistance