The Division of IT activated External Sender tags for all campus email accounts on October 7. The tags clearly identify messages received from external senders or from a suspicious source. 

Chief Information Security Officer Michael Sadaryzadeh says External Sender tags improve the university’s cybersecurity posture. 

“Like other universities, Texas A&M continues to see increasing numbers of cyber attacks and phishing scams,” says Sadaryzadeh. “External Sender tags add an additional layer of protection to campus email accounts, helping campus members determine if a message should be trusted.”

Prior to the launch of the External Sender tags, extensive user testing was done with campus IT professionals and key university leaders.

Feedback gathered during the pilot test was essential as the Division of IT worked to ensure the External Sender tags worked as anticipated - improving the security of the campus email system.

Interim Chief Information Officer Ed Pierson applauds the cross-campus collaboration.

“Protecting the university is imperative. Collaboration across the university made sure this tool was ready for our faculty, students and staff.” 

Additional details about External Sender tags are available in the Knowledge Base. If you have questions about External Sender tags or want to report a suspicious email, contact Help Desk Central.