Enhancing Campus Security Against Phishing

Effective Dec. 16, the default setting for Google Calendar invitations from unknown external senders will change to protect you and the university from phishing attempts. Previously, all invitations were automatically added to calendars. Invites from external senders you’ve never interacted with pose a significant risk.

What’s Changing

The new default setting for automatically adding Google Calendar invitations will be “Only if the sender is known.”

• Who is considered known?
  • Senders who are in the NC State domain or external senders whose addresses are already in your contacts. Once you accept an external calendar invite or reply to an email, the contact becomes known.
• Invitations from known senders:
  • The invitation will continue to be added automatically to your calendar.
• Invitations from unknown senders:
  • The event will no longer be automatically added to your calendar.
  • You will still receive the calendar invitation via email.
  • You must manually click Yes, Maybe or No in the email to add the event to your calendar.

Why This is Changing

This change is a proactive measure to protect the university’s data. It gives you the control to vet and approve external invitations before they clutter your schedule or pose a security risk.

Help

If you have questions or need assistance, contact the NC State Help Desk via the NC State IT Service Portal or call 919.515.HELP (4357).