E-mail Spam Filters Upgraded to Combat Latest Wave of Unwanted Messages

The following information comes from UCit E-Mail Services:

This week, UCit upgraded its e-mail gateway software in order to combat intensifying spam threats. On an average day, UCit’s spam filters on the two central e-mail systems, Exchange and Bearcat Online, identify some 85 percent of the e-mail received at the university as spam and block it from reaching the intended recipients. On May 13, Exchange users experienced a significant increase in spam due to the fact that the spam filters were only blocking around 67 percent of incoming e-mail.

UC has recently been the target of spammers who send e-mail disguised as official university messages asking users to respond with their e-mail password. If the recipient responds with a password, the spammers gain access to an e-mail account and use the account to send thousands of spam messages. UCit applied a fix to mitigate these "phishing" attempts, but the fix resulted in the spammers sending e-mail that bypassed the gateway filters.

Over the last 24 hours, UCit worked with our software vendor to upgrade our e-mail software and apply a patch that would help block the new wave of spam. These solutions have brought the spam filtering system back to normal.

UCit apologizes for the inconvenience and will continue to be vigilant in its effort to protect the community from spam. For tips on individual spam management, please see: http://www.uc.edu/ucit/email/spam.html

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