ITS reduces spam with Harmony by Checkpoint software
Information Technology Services (ITS) and other areas of the College have been testing new email protection software. The goal is to replace the Mimecast email protection we are now using with this new system.
The new system, Harmony by Checkpoint, uses artificial intelligence to determine whether e-mail is spam, malicious, or safe. It's not always right, which is where you come in. If you do nothing, the email will be considered spam. If you mark it "not spam," the algorithm learns and gets better at determining what is spam and what is not. Read about Harmony email protection
You will see “Quarantined” in the subject line
For now, Harmony adds an extra layer of protection on top of Mimecast. One difference you will see is emails coming from noreply@hfcc.edu with “Quarantined” in the subject. The body of the email will be:
Hello First Name Last Name
An email has just been received from Name email@address and is suspected to be a "Spam" email. The email message is safely quarantined.
The email subject is: Email subject
Email attached files are: name of attachment
To release from quarantine, [select link] or contact your system administrator. You may be required to authenticate. In that case, follow these instructions:
1. You will be directed to a page where you would be requested to specify your email address.
2. An email with verification code will be sent to you.
3. Copy the code and return to the email recovery page.
4. The email will be released to your mailbox.
Please exercise discretion when requesting to release suspicious emails.
Giving end-users more control
If you are using the “Focused” Inbox, be sure to check “Other” view for the quarantined items. This gives you more control over your mailbox.
If the email was incorrectly labeled as spam, you can release the email from the quarantine by selecting the link. You will not be required to authenticate. The email will be released to your mailbox. Harmony will learn what you consider spam and will begin to make decisions, based on your choices and decisions.
Why so much attention to email and email security?
Remember, most security breaches (more than 80%) begin with an email. Harmony not only detects malicious email, it also detects accounts that have been breached by learning login behavior, and warning administrators if user logins are occurring from areas not previously seen by the user, or logins are occurring from locations that would have been impossible to travel to during specific time frames (i.e., a login from Michigan and an hour later, a login from Paris).
If you have any questions about the new system, contact Joe Zitnik at 313-317-6500 or jzitnik@hfcc.edu.