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Configuring Duo MFA

Guides an agent through deploying and auditing Cisco Duo multi-factor authentication for VPN, RDP and SSH

Stars
35,430
Licence
Apache-2.0
Files
7 files

What it does

Once installed, the agent can walk you through setting up Cisco Duo, a service that adds a second login check (such as a phone prompt or security key) on top of passwords for VPNs, Windows remote desktop, SSH and web apps. It covers the proxy setup, group-based policies such as stronger checks for admins, device health rules, and monitoring with logs sent to a SIEM. It also includes Python helper scripts that can call the Duo Admin API to list users and audit a Duo configuration for weak settings, such as SMS fallback or unsafe failmode.

Great for

  • IT or security staff rolling out Duo MFA for remote access
  • Administrators auditing an existing Duo deployment for weak policies
  • Security teams mapping Duo controls to NIST 800-63B and NIST 800-53 requirements

Skip it if

  • People without access to a Duo account or an IT environment, since the guidance is only useful when applied to real systems
  • Running the Admin API scripts against production tenants without authorization, because they read user and authentication data and could expose sensitive information if misused
  • Organizations that do not use Cisco Duo, as the steps are specific to Duo products

Try asking

  • “Help me plan a Duo rollout for our VPN and RDP servers, with stronger methods for admins”
  • “Review our Duo policy settings and tell me which ones are weaker than NIST 800-63B AAL2 recommends”
  • “Write a checklist for testing Duo MFA on SSH and Windows logon before go-live”
  • “Explain the difference between Duo Push and Verified Push to my helpdesk team”
Step-by-step guide: how to use Configuring Duo MFAInstall, first run, examples, tips and FAQs

Install in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the skill

    The ZIP contains the 7 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.

    configuring-multi-factor-authentication-with-duo.zip
  2. 2

    Add it to your agent

    Claude Code (all projects)

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip configuring-multi-factor-authentication-with-duo.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

    Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)

    mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip configuring-multi-factor-authentication-with-duo.zip -d .claude/skills/

    Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.

  3. 3

    Ask for the task

    No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.

Get better results

  • Test the Duo Admin API script in a lab or read-only tenant first, and review the code before supplying API credentials
  • Keep Duo secret keys out of chat logs and store them in a secrets manager or environment variables
  • Use the skill's checklists as a starting point and verify the steps against current official Duo documentation, since the files do not include vendor version details

What's inside

  • assets/template.md
  • references/api-reference.md
  • references/standards.md
  • references/workflows.md
  • scripts/agent.py
  • scripts/process.py
  • SKILL.md

Redistributed unmodified from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.