Cybercriminals use various methods to get you to share confidential and sensitive information or to trick you into installing malware. One of these methods is called spoofing. With spoofing, cybercriminals try to make their ‘fake’ emails look like official emails e.g. from the Danish Customs and Tax Administration, your bank or from Aarhus University. Now, AU IT will launch a new technical solution designed to protect your inbox against fake emails which appear to be from Aarhus University. The solution will be implemented in one department/centre/unit at a time and AU IT will notify the unit when the implementation starts.

2020.08.27 | Malene Hjulmand Bundgaard

Photo: Colourbox

Cyber criminals try to steal passwords, credit card numbers or gain access to user accounts etc. by making their ‘fake’ emails look like official emails e.g. from the Danish Customs and Tax Administration, your bank or from Aarhus University. The method is called spoofing, and it is a growing problem for businesses and organisations – including Aarhus University.

In order to protect employees against spoofing, AU IT is launching a new technical approval procedure called DMARC. DMARC is designed to protect your inbox against fake emails that appear to be from Aarhus University by rejecting emails from fake email senders.

Check your spam filter

DMARC is not completely flawless. Therefore, when AU IT starts to launch DMARC at your unit, you should check your spam filter more frequently in a short period of time, to see whether the spam filter has discarded emails which are not spam emails. This is necessary because DMARC may reject real emails if they are sent from a system, e.g. newsletters and confirmation emails from booking systems. 

You still have to be careful and pay attention to any signs of spoofing and phishing from other organisations and companies, as DMARC only protects your inbox from fake emails that look like official emails fra Aarhus University. Typical phishing email characteristics can be found here. 

Any questions?

Please contact your local IT support team if you have any questions.