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Account Blocked due to Suspicious Activity

Sometimes, your BCIT account may be temporarily blocked even if you’re entering the correct password. This can happen when Microsoft detects unusual or potentially risky sign-in activity, such as a login from an unexpected location or a signal that your account may be compromised.

To help protect your information, the system automatically blocks access until the activity is verified and your account is secured. This article explains why this happens and how to restore access.

Error Message

When you try to sign in to a BCIT application and see:

“Your account has been locked out. Contact your Administrator.”, or
“Account being blocked due to suspicious activity.”

This indicates that your account has been flagged as high risk by Microsoft Entra ID Protection, BCIT’s cloud-based identity security system. This is not a standard password lockout – it is a security hold that prevents all sign-in attempts until the risk is cleared, even with the correct password.

This block is enforced by Microsoft and cannot be resolved by waiting or trying again. To restore access, you will need to reset your password, or contact IT Services to have your account reviewed if the activity is believed to be a false positive.

Common Causes

  • Signing in from different locations in a short time (Improbable travel) – If your account is used to sign in from locations that are far apart within a short period of time, the system may flag this as unusual. This can sometimes happen when using a VPN on one device and a regular network on another.
  • Using a VPN or anonymizing service – Some personal VPN services, Tor, or other anonymizing tools can hide your true location. These services may appear suspicious to the system and trigger a security block.
  • Compromised password – If your password has been exposed in a known data breach, Microsoft may automatically flag your account as high risk to help protect it.
  • Unexpected or failed MFA attempts – If you receive multi-factor authentication (MFA) prompts you did not initiate, or there are repeated failed attempts, it may indicate that someone else is trying to access your account.

Resolution

To remove the risk level and restore access:

  1. Change your password. Refer to article: Retrieving/Resetting Lost or Forgotten BCIT Login Credentials
  2. Allow up to 15 minutes for Microsoft to remove the high-risk designation after the password change. 
  3. Once the risk level is cleared, attempt to sign in again. 

If you are still unable to access your account after resetting your password and waiting 15 minutes, or if you cannot complete the password reset, please contact the BCIT IT Service Desk. 

More information about BCIT accounts and access