Added Security to ZIMS with Auth0 Implementation

Signing into the Species360 Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) will become even more secure. As part of Species360’s commitment to the highest security standards to protect our members’ data, we will implement Auth0 in ZIMS on September 6. Auth0 is an industry-standard authentication and authorization system that allows users to log securely into applications. You can read more about this here. 

Using Auth0 will allow us to set the highest security standards for our members, ensuring the safety of their data.

What does this mean for ZIMS users?

The changes won’t be too significant, although you will see a slightly different look to the ZIMS login screen. 

There is no need to change your password or login details, but if you do need to reset your password, you will receive a link in an email to do so, and you will be required to create a password that is at least 12 characters long to ensure maximum security.

ZIMS administrators will no longer be able to set passwords for their users. When adding a new ZIMS user, the system will send the new user a link to set their own password.

When will the change come into effect?

The change to Auth0 will take place on September 6 at 10 p.m. Central time. (Click here to check the corresponding time in your region). When this happens, ZIMS will go down for around 10 minutes, so if you’re in ZIMS at that time, please save what you’re working on and go make yourself a cup of tea/coffee. Users in the system at that time will receive a notification warning them just before the change goes into effect. 

Once Auth0 has been implemented, users can log back into ZIMS as usual.

I forgot my ZIMS login password

Don’t worry, you can click on the “forgot password” link, which will send you an email to reset your password.

Password Best Practices

According to the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a more complex password is not necessarily a more secure one.

A commonly held belief is that complex passwords making use of special characters like ! or numbers will make the password more secure, but this is actually not the case. The longer a password is, the harder it is for hackers to crack. You can read more about this on the NIST website here. Species360, therefore, requires that users set passwords with a minimum of 12 characters. 

More information:

For more information, please view the ZIMS Help Document here. 

If you have any questions about this change or need help, please get in touch with the Species360 Support team at support@species360.org.