UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In recent months, higher education institutions nationwide have seen an increase in attempts to redirect employee direct deposits. To further strengthen the security of Penn State employee accounts and sensitive personal information, Human Resources, the Payroll Office, and Penn State IT Information Security are partnering to implement additional enhancements in Workday to better protect employees while minimizing disruption to everyday tasks.
Effective July 13, individuals will be required to verify existing bank information before making changes to direct deposit elections. Workday also will require an extra authentication step when accessing Social Security numbers, W-2s or making bank account changes. This safeguard is designed so only authorized users can complete these actions.
"Fraud attempts have become more sophisticated," said Holly Swires, chief information security officer and chief privacy officer. "Our objective is protecting the identity and information of our employees. These enhancements help ensure only authorized individuals can access and change sensitive and important financial information."
The upcoming Workday enhancements are focused on higher-risk actions and will have minimal impact on routine Workday use. These targeted safeguards help:
- Protect employees from fraud and identity misuse.
- Reduce the impact of phishing attacks and compromised credentials.
- Reduce misuse of third-party financial and tax applications that rely on credential sharing.
- Strengthen protection of the broader Penn State account ecosystem — not just Workday.
No action is required unless employees take certain higher-risk actions in Workday, such as changing direct deposit information or accessing tax documents. Additional verification will be required in those cases.
"We care very deeply about our employees and want to protect them from fraud," said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources. "We are putting these measures in place to help promote safety across our workforce."
Additional guidance will be available through these Knowledge Base job aids (Privileged Sessions in Workday and Payment Elections) to help employees understand what to expect and where to get assistance if needed.