Send Outlook Email Outside Virginia Tech

Choose the label first

Virginia Tech describes Low Risk as:

“No additional protections or notifications provided.”

Use Low Risk for routine external email only when the message and every attachment truly contain low-risk information.

Virginia Tech describes Internal Use Only as:

“Only invited VT recipients”

Do not use Internal Use Only when any recipient is outside Virginia Tech.

For high- or moderate-risk information that must go outside VT, use the appropriate Specific Users label. VT describes it as:

“All invited recipients”; “Prevents email forwarding”; “Enforces encryption”

Never downgrade genuinely high- or moderate-risk information just to make delivery easier.

Source: Understanding Sensitivity Labels

New Outlook for Windows

Microsoft says:

“When you open new Outlook, you’ll see the following tabs on the ribbon: Home, View, and Help.” New Outlook also includes “a Settings option which is available in the navigation header.”

Microsoft’s instruction is:

“When composing an email in new Outlook, select Sensitivity on the Message tab in the Tags group.”

1. Start a message or reply.
2. Open Message.
3. Under Tags, select Sensitivity.
4. Select the correct VT label.

Classic Outlook for Windows

Microsoft says:

“The File tab in the classic Outlook takes you to the area of the app where you can find information about the accounts you’re using in Outlook.”

Microsoft’s instruction is:

“When composing an email in classic Outlook, select Sensitivity on the Message tab.”

1. Start a message or reply.
2. Open Message.
3. Select Sensitivity on the ribbon.
4. Select the correct VT label.

The sample menu below uses Microsoft’s example labels. Your VT labels have different names.

Current Outlook for Mac

Microsoft’s Mac instruction is:

“Select Sensitivity in the toolbar. If you don’t see if, select the See more options (…) button.”

1. Start a message or reply.
2. Select Sensitivity in the toolbar.
3. If necessary, open ….
4. Select the correct VT label.

Older or legacy Outlook for Mac

Microsoft’s Outlook for Mac instructions:

“Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac Outlook 2024 for Mac Outlook 2021 for Mac Outlook 2019 for Mac”

“Select New Message to start a new email.” “Select Sensitivity in the toolbar.” “From the drop-down menu, select the Sensitivity Label.”

Use Outlook > About Outlook in the macOS menu bar to identify your installed version.

If the control is absent, save the draft and use Outlook on the web rather than guessing that the default label is safe.

Outlook on the web

Microsoft’s instruction is:

“When composing an email in Outlook on the web, select Sensitivity on the Message tab in the Tags group.”

1. Open outlook.office.com.
2. Start a message or reply.
3. Open Message.
4. Under Tags, select Sensitivity.
5. Select the correct VT label.

Source for Windows and web: Apply sensitivity labels to email messages in Outlook

Check every attachment

Virginia Tech warns:

“If an attachment has a sensitivity label applied to it, then the email will inherit that label.”

If a restrictive label returns after you change it, open every attachment and check its label. Correct an attachment only when its actual information classification permits the change, then attach the corrected file to a new message.

Source: Why did my email get a sensitivity label applied when it doesn’t have sensitive content?

Open a protected message outside Outlook

Microsoft says:

“If your email provider is Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft, you can select Sign in with Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft respectively. Otherwise, select sign in with a one-time passcode.”

It also warns:

“Each passcode expires after 15 minutes. If that happens, or if you can’t open the message for any reason, start over by opening the attachment again and following the steps.”

1. Select Read the message in the protected-message notification.
2. Sign in with the option matching the recipient’s provider, or request a one-time passcode.
3. If the code expires, reopen the original protected-message link or attachment and request a fresh one.

If provider sign-in and a fresh passcode both fail:

1. Recheck the email and attachment labels.
2. Send a new message with Low Risk only if the content is genuinely low risk.
3. Do not downgrade high- or moderate-risk information.
4. Open an AAD IT ticket.
5. Include the sender, recipient, subject, time sent, screenshots, and Internet Message-ID if available.

Source: Open encrypted and protected messages