To help defend against the increasing number of threats intended to steal personal information and compromise the security of our campus computer networks, UW-Whitewater will implement a new warning system tomorrow morning that will assist the campus community with identifying potential threats.
The warning system is designed to scan emails sent from outside the university network for key words and file types commonly associated with scams and viruses. When the system identifies a potential threat, one of the following messages will be added to the top of the original email message.
***************
The attached file(s), (filename).zip is/are from an unverified off-campus sender. If you are not expecting a file from _________ or do not recognize this email address, please exercise extreme caution before opening.
***************
WARNING! This message claims to be from _________, an unverified off-campus sender. The message contains words commonly associated with scams attempting to steal your account or personal information. This message is not from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
***************
The original email message will not be modified other than having the warning placed in the body of the message. No files will be removed from the original message, therefore potentially harmful files may still be attached to the email. Use extreme caution when opening files that trigger the automated warning.
ICIT can provide training and resources to the campus community to help combat this threat. For more information on IT security, visit http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/it-security