“Built on the cloud and the world’s most advanced intelligence platform, our solutions help you effectively detect and block targeted attacks and respond quickly to suspected compromises” –Proofpoint.
As of February 28, 2017 Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS), an email security service, was implemented at the University of Waterloo (UWaterloo) to block spam, phishing and malware for Connect users. As a Connect user (faculty, staff and graduate students), you are able to see messages that have been quarantined if they have been classified as spam. Further information about PPS is explored throughout this article.
Why Proofpoint?
Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) reduces the flood of malware and phishing that come through email messages. It also helps to reduce the amount of junk mail (spam) received daily. With Proofpoint, malware infections are less likely to occur, as Proofpoint will block many harmful attachments before reaching the user.
What is Proofpoint?
Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) is an email security gateway that stops malware threats and provides filtering to regulate unwanted email. Proofpoint provides email protection that prevents spam, malware and even non-malware threats with granular control. Based on Proofpoint success rates, this solution stops 99% of attachment-based attacks and more than 600 million email threats worldwide.
Proofpoint at UWaterloo
PPS acts as a gateway between the campus email gateway (currently Mailservices) and the Exchange server (Connect) to filter out spam and malware. Mailservices screens out some spam and malware, but Proofpoint acts as an extra step of protection. Messages that are blocked are stored in a quarantine area for up to one month, accessible to the intended recipient as described below.
A test group of eighty faculty and staff across campus tested Proofpoint’s classification of emails. The testing group determined the service caught the vast majority of incoming spam and malware. There was a small number of messages containing spam/malware that were classified as legitimate. There were almost no cases of legitimate email being marked as spam.
The goal of implementing PPS at UWaterloo is to minimize the risk of malware attacks for faculty, staff and graduate students. Although malware protection is the primary focus, PPS also protects against general spam and phishing attacks.
Information and Systems Technology (IST) at UWaterloo is taking a user-friendly approach to the implementation of PPS here on campus. The gateway will only quarantine malware that is confirmed to be harmful. If PPS consistently quarantines attachments you need, please consult with Arts Computing Office (ACO) staff, who can provide alternatives or escalate to IST.
Changes to your email
Proofpoint sends a daily digest to end users that lists how many and which email messages Proofpoint quarantined in the previous 24 hours. To view messages that have been quarantined, you can sign in with your WatIAM credentials at https://quarantine.uwaterloo.ca at any time, not just when you receive a daily summary of quarantined messages.
Useful resources
For more information about the implementation of PPS at UWaterloo, please visit the following sites:
https://uwaterloo.ca/information-systems-technology/proofpoint-protection-server-pps-it-staff
References
[1] [Proofpoint]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.informationsecuritybuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/Proofpoint-Acquisition-Slider4.png
