On June 14, 2020 the Division of IT began adding a tag to emails that are received from external email addresses.  The tag looks like this: WARNING: This message has originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening attachments, clicking links, or responding to this email.

We are adding a tag to battle email spoofing.  Spoofing is a technique cyber criminals use to make an email look like it’s coming from someone you know or work with in order to get you to respond with confidential or sensitive information.  We have seen an uptick in spoofing incidents lately and are adding the tag to help you stay alert and avoid falling victim to these nefarious tactics.

As you know, securing our IT systems is a huge and ever evolving challenge.  Spoofing and phishing pose significant threats and continue to consume a substantial amount of time from our security and email teams at all four Universities.

If you get an email labeled “external” and it appears to be from someone you work with (colleague, supervisor, etc.), please contact that individual  through a different channel to find out if their email is legitimate.  Please remember, all work-related emails must be conducted using your University email account.  Using Gmail or other consumer type email systems to conduct University business is prohibited by policy.