Email Hygiene
Email hygiene enhances the University’s email system by identifying threats, filtering out harmful messages, and automatically managing suspicious emails. It offers protection against evolving email threats while allowing legitimate communications to flow smoothly. The service improves the email experience by reducing the number of harmful messages, decreasing inbox clutter from malicious content, and simplifying the process for handling phishing reports and abuse.
Benefits
- Reduces exposure to phishing, email compromise, and other malicious email threats.
- Minimizes inbox disruption by automatically identifying and removing harmful messages.
- Decreases the time and effort needed to identify and report suspicious emails.
- Enables quicker response and remediation of email-related incidents.
- Reduces productivity losses associated with compromised accounts or fraudulent activity.
Access
This service is integrated with the university's email system and is automatically applied to all supported Google Workspace accounts within that environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is email hygiene important?
Email remains one of the most common vectors for cyberattacks. By improving email hygiene, we reduce the risk of phishing, malware, and data breaches, helping protect personal and institutional information.
Will I notice a change in my email delivery?
In general, you shouldn't notice any changes in how emails are delivered, aside from a reduction in suspicious emails. However, some malicious emails may evade initial detection, leading to a delay in their removal. As a result, you might find that an email has ‘disappeared’ from your inbox. Please continue to report any suspicious emails you encounter.
Will legitimate emails be blocked or quarantined?
It is highly unlikely, but not impossible, for a legitimate email to be mistakenly flagged as suspicious and removed from your inbox. If you believe this has happened, please report it to the Computing Services Help Center at it-help@cmu.edu or by calling 412-268-4357 (HELP).
Does this protect all of my email addresses?
This tool currently protects email addresses provided through Carnegie Mellon’s central Google Workspace, including @andrew.cmu.edu, @cmu.edu, @cs.cmu.edu, and @ece.cmu.edu.
Should I continue to report suspicious email?
If you encounter any questionable emails—such as those with urgent subject lines, misspellings, or unfamiliar email addresses—please continue to report these using the "three dot" menu (upper right) of the message > Report Phishing (Gmail) OR by forwarding the email to report-phish@andrew.cmu.edu.
How can I learn more about email safety and phishing awareness?
The Information Security Office offers training and resources on email safety. Visit the Secure Computing section of the Computing pages for guides, videos, and awareness materials.
Can I opt out?
You are not able to opt out.
What if I deal with sensitive data in my email?
Email and email hygiene providers have completed due diligence and established contractual agreements to protect Carnegie Mellon’s data in line with our standards and relevant laws and regulations. However, we recommend against storing restricted or sensitive information in your email account for long-term use. Threat actors who successfully compromise Andrew accounts often access email to find banking information, delete security alert messages, and retrieve other content for malicious purposes. For long term sharing and storage, consider using services like Google Drive and Box.