[Important Information for Employees] Understanding Email Flags - [External] and Introducing [Official]

[Information Technology Services CIO Office]

Dear Campus Community,

*Email flags added to your campus emails* are an important part of our ITS
efforts to enhance email security and make communications clearer. These flags
are prepended to the subject lines of emails sent to the plattsburgh.edu
 domain.

Today we would like to remind everyone about our existing *[External]* email
flag and introduce you to our new *[Official] *flag.

*[External] Flag*
For some time now, emails originating from domains outside of our
plattsburgh.edu network have been automatically flagged with the [External]
prefix in the subject line. This flag serves as a reminder to *exercise
caution *when interacting with such emails, especially before clicking any
links or opening attachments.

Our [External] flag also helps us recognize attempts and address the
problem of "spoofing," a scam in which someone attempts to send a message
with either the same name, or even the same email address, of another
individual.  This flag has been very successful and we will continue to use
it. That said, the campus has an increasing number of externally hosted
services that send emails to campus users as part of our normal operations.
It has been determined that a new flag would be helpful in identifying
emails coming from these campus-affiliated services.

*New [Official] Flag*
To provide further clarity, we've introduced a new [Official] flag. This
flag identifies emails from third-party domains with which SUNY Plattsburgh
is officially affiliated.

The purpose here is to help you quickly identify emails that are part of
our institutional operations. Currently, the following services have this
new flag:

   - *Symplicity Accommodate *- Accommodation management software used by
   faculty and students.
   - *Vector Solutions *(formerly SafeColleges) - Used for faculty/staff
   compliance training.
   - *Watermark Faculty Success* - Used for the faculty/staff annual review
   process.

*Best Practices*

   - Always be cautious with emails flagged as *[External]*, especially if
   you didn't expect to receive them.
   - The *[Official]* flag means the email is from a verified source, but
   it's still a good idea to remain vigilant.

*Adding [Offical] to other Services*
If you're the manager of a campus service that sends emails that are being
marked with the [External] flag and would like it reviewed to receive the
[Official] flag, please open a request via the ITS Portal
<https://plattsburgh.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/90/Portal/Requests/TicketRequests/NewForm?ID=rzXYf9Sdqvc_&RequestorType=Service>
.


*Scam Questions and Help*
If you believe you received a scam or "spoofing" email, we urge you to
contact the ITS Helpdesk via helpdesk at plattsburgh.edu or through our ITS
Portal
<https://plattsburgh.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/90/Portal/Requests/TicketRequests/NewForm?ID=vr74zGd-Gjg_&RequestorType=Service>
.

   - NOTE: It is very helpful if you share the "headers" of the email in
   these cases. You can do so by clicking the three-dot menu in the top right
   of the Gmail web interface when viewing an email and choosing "Show
   Original." See the screenshot below:

[image: image.png]
Thank you for your cooperation and for helping to keep our campus
cyber-safe.

-- 

*TJ Myers*

Director & Chief Information Officer

Information Technology Services

215 Feinberg

101 Broad Street
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

Plattsburgh, NY 12901
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

(o) 518-564- <(518)%20564-2449>5180

(f) 518-564-3817

*plattsburgh.edu <http://plattsburgh.edu/>*
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