In February, Gmail and Yahoo email services will enforce stricter requirements on senders of bulk mail to help enhance email security and reduce spam and malicious email. UBC is considered a bulk sender by these services. To meet these requirements, administrators of email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Campaigner, etc.) and email systems need to set up appropriate controls to avoid disruption in delivery.
Key points you need to know to help you navigate these changes seamlessly:
- New Requirements: Beginning February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo email services will introduce requirements for bulk senders to authenticate their emails and enable one-click unsubscribe to ensure they are sending wanted emails:
- Definition of Bulk Email Sender: The definition of a bulk email sender depends on the service provider but broadly UBC is considered a bulk sender for the ubc.ca domain and all subdomains.
- Consequences for Non-Compliance: Gmail and Yahoo will gradually escalate the consequences for some percentage of non-compliant emails starting February 2024. This may include rejecting messages or tagging them as spam.
- UBC's Compliance: UBC’s enterprise mail services are all compliant with the new Gmail and Yahoo requirements. However, if you've chosen to redirect or forward your mail to a non-UBC mail service, you may experience issues. Please note Information Security Standard U3 specifies that forwarding or redirecting UBC email accounts that are used to transmit UBC Electronic Information to a personal email account is not permitted. Only UBC faculty and staff members who have appointments at other institutions and have difficulty managing multiple work email accounts are permitted to automatically forward or redirect UBC email accounts to a public sector institution located in Canada under the circumstances specified in Section 4.1 of Information Security Standard U3
- Email Forwarding: As more organizations and email service providers increase email security to prevent spoofing, we recommend users not use their email forwarding address for any critical communications.
Further information: - Mail Server Owners and Administrators of Email Marketing Platforms: Owners of individual mail servers and administrators of email marketing platforms will need to implement changes to comply with the new industry standards.
These changes address security concerns and improve user experience. UBC is proactive in meeting these new standards, and we encourage all users to review and comply with these updates.
If you require assistance with any of the information shared in this article, please contact the IT Service Centre.
