Email Servers

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Policy Number:
UW-507
Responsible Office:
Division of Information Technology (DoIT)

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

Email has become a key communication tool used by university faculty, staff, and students to carry out academic, research, and administrative functions. It is important to ensure the security of campus email servers to promote the effective use of email on campus. These measures include preventing the spread of viruses through email, reducing spam traffic through open relay servers, and promoting secure access to email data.

Scope:

Applies to any UW–Madison unit or individual that connects an email server to the UW–Madison network.

Policy:

  1. Policy

    1. Email servers connected to the UW–Madison network by any means must:
      1. Run an up-to-date anti-virus package that scans and cleans all inbound and outbound email messages and attachments.
      2. Not be an "open relay." SMTP authentication is strongly recommended.
      3. Use encryption for all username/password exchanges.
      4. Be supported by a vendor or development community.
      5. Be patched and up-to-date, in compliance with UW-526 Endpoint Management and Security.

  2. Enforcement

    1. The university reserves the right to suspend access to preserve the integrity of the network.
Related UW-Madison Policies:

UW-526 Endpoint Management and Security

Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Chief Information Officer & Vice Provost for Information Technology
Policy Manager:
Assistant Director, Cybersecurity Program and Business Services
Contact:
IT Policy Writer and Analyst -- Heather Johnston, HEATHER.JOHNSTON@WISC.EDU
Effective Date:
10-01-2004
Revised Dates:

10-01-2004

Reviewed Dates:

01/01/2019

Retrieved:
07-23-2025 19:10:02