ILS has the ability to remove an email message from every Bates Gmail account that has received it. This act is accomplished using an automated method (where no ILS employee is viewing the contents of an email account) that searches for a specific email and deletes that email system-wide, regardless of whether that email has yet been opened or not. When the email is deleted from the account, there is no notification to the employee; the email simply disappears. This policy outlines the conditions under which ILS would perform a mass removal of an email.

Emails must meet the following conditions to be eligible for removal:

1. be reported to ILS from a member of the Bates Community, and
2. be using deceptive phishing techniques to:
   1. gain access to an individual’s network credentials, or
   2. fraudulently use the names of Bates employees to request some form of assistance, or
   3. house links to data-stealing forms or fake login screens or attachments that have the potential to trigger the download of malicious software or apps.
3. or be an inadvertent exposure of personally identifiable information (PII)

Permission from the VP, Information & Library Services or the Director of Information Security, Privacy & Compliance or the Director of Client Services is required before any email is removed using the mass removal procedure.

Documentation: Once someone within ILS has been notified of the issue, an IT Service Desk ticket will be created that includes all information about the offending email, including a screenshot when possible. The ticket will include the name of the person who made the initial notification and the name of the person who approved the removal request. This ticket will be updated as calls come into the IT Service Desk regarding this issue.

PDF Version

---

^{ILS Policy for the Mass Removal of an Email from Bates Gmail Accounts, Version 1.0, Effective: July 16, 2021}