Thursday, May 4, 2023
EBSCO is making a change to its interfaces and services in May 2023 to no longer allow communication via older non-supported versions of TLS (Transport Layer Security). This change will affect primarily higher education institutions utilizing proxy authentication.
from EBSCO:
EBSCO is committed to ensuring the security and privacy of our customer and user data. With significant investments over the last few years, we are continuing this year with enhancements aligned to our goal of providing an optimal research experience, while meeting the privacy standards that all customers expect.
In May 2023 we will be upgrading all our interfaces and services to no longer allow communication via older non-supported versions of TLS (Transport Layer Security).
What does this mean for customers?
The discontinuation impacts proxy customers (OCLC’s EZproxy, III’s WAM, etc.) who should ensure their proxy method is using TLS 1.2 or higher connectivity. Customers need to verify support by May 15, 2023 or contact EBSCO to discuss alternate authentication options.
EZproxy customers using 5.7.44 or earlier will get connection errors, as versions prior to 6.X do not support TLS v1.2. Customers using version 6.X forward should verify in their settings that TLS 1.2 support is enabled before May 15, 2023. Questions about updating your EZproxy TLS support can be directed to OCLC. For more information, visit OCLC Install and Update EZProxy resources and related support pages. Questions about any of EBSCO’s supported authentication methods can be directed to your EBSCO account team.
In addition, a small number of users on older browsers may experience difficulty regardless of proxy setting. For more information on browser support for our products visit EBSCO Connect.