Suddenly getting "Login Failed" when I try to Connect to VPN! HELP!

[mattclemmdrumm]

I've been working remote for a couple years now with no significant issues. Every morning, I connect to Cisco Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client via the use of an authentication card (I just punch in my date of birth and receive a custom password). When I go to type in the password given from the authentication card, the login simply fails now. The IT people at my work said that they don't deal with any Cisco issues, that it's beyond their control. I've restarted my laptop several times and even disabled my firewall (Windows Defender). I use Windows 10. I have absolutely no idea of what else to do. Please, are there any heroes here? I'm pretty upset that I can't get any work done and that there's zero hope of solving my issue. 

[Rob Ingram]

@mattclemmdrumm I assume you aren't the administrator of the Remote Access VPN solution, so it's going to be hard to troubleshoot.

Please provide a screenshot of the exact error.

From within the AnyConnect application you can click the "diagnostics" button to generate logs to aid troubleshoot, please do this and see if these indicate where the issue is. You should send these to whoever supports your VPN.

[mattclemmdrumm]

@Rob Ingram Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am just a peon and not an admin of the Remote Access VPN solution. I will consider posting a screenshot or 2. But I did likely identify the nature of the problem. I notice that when I go to connect, there is a message that flashes "No valid certificates available for authentication". Here is a copy/paste of the message log: 

12:57:59 PM Ready to connect.

1:01:35 PM Contacting [Redacted by me for this post].
1:01:35 PM No valid certificates available for authentication.
1:01:50 PM User credentials entered.
1:01:52 PM User credentials prompt cancelled.
1:01:52 PM Ready to connect.

Basically, when I click that initial "Connect" button, it says "VPN: contacting [Redacted]" then "VPN: No valid certificates available for authentication" and then the username/password field window opens for me to login. Please note that the username field is always default populated by what my username is, so I only ever have to type in my password (smart card).

What exactly does this mean? Did my authentication smart card expire, etc.? What could have changed over the weekend that is now making my life so difficult? 

[Rob Ingram]

@mattclemmdrumm it's possible the certificate has expired, as certificates have a lifetime 1-5 years.

You have more information to provide your IT support, see what they say...you may have to go to site in order to renew the certificate.

[mattclemmdrumm]

May I have more clarification about what is meant by a 'certificate'? Is it a digital authorization of my user, or something like that? I'm still waiting for IT to look at the JIRA ticket that a coworker put in on my behalf, but hopefully someone at my work actually knows something about VPN problems like this.  

[Rob Ingram]

@mattclemmdrumm the certificate authenticates you to the VPN. Certificates are usually issued per user, so this certificate uniquely identifies you when connecting to the VPN.

[mattclemmdrumm]

Thanks Rob. Given the certificate issue, is there anything on my end that I can do to troubleshoot further? Or is this issue only solvable by an admin or someone in charge of my certificate?