Error with spam in Microsoft Exchange

Even established systems and applications can cause unforeseen problems from time to time. Take Microsoft Exchange Server, for example. The groupware, whose tasks include the central storage and management of emails, marked all outgoing emails as spam for a few hours. The Microsoft 365 IT department reacted quickly and fixed the problem.

Exchange and dealing with spam

Microsoft Exchange was originally a simple e-mail. It is now a groupware system that combines numerous functions. These include, among others:

- Emails

- Appointments/Calendar (incl. scheduling assistant)

- Tasks

- Contacts/Addresses

- Notes

- Certificate-based authentication

Like any good e-mail, Microsoft Exchange is designed to recognize and filter spam. If the program detects a spam e-mail - or junk mail, as Microsoft applications call it - it moves the e-mail to the appropriate folder. E-mails that Exchange classifies as particularly dangerous are moved to quarantine by the software.

The problem with this is that both the spam folder (or junk folder) and the quarantine are not regular points of contact for most users. Worse still, many users empty these folders unseen because they don't want to come into contact with spam in the first place.

What should not normally cause any major problems becomes critical when Microsoft Exchange suddenly marks all outgoing emails as spam. There is a risk that recipients will not read emails and the administration's mailboxes will be flooded with blind copies.

The Exchange error that led to the wrong spam

The problem was noticed because Microsoft Exchange sent a blind copy of the respective emails to the Microsoft 365 administrators in addition to marking the emails as spam. The program was sending these BCC emails in large numbers. The Microsoft IT team therefore announced via social media that it would be investigating the numerous BCC emails for the time being.

In the course of the investigation, it emerged that Microsoft Exchange was not only sending BCC emails to the admins, but that the corresponding emails were also ending up in the tenant's quarantine.

Microsoft then deactivated an anti-spam rule in the system to solve the problem. This anti-spam rule caused Microsoft Exchange worldwide to classify all outgoing emails as spam.

It is possible that this anti-spam rule has also caused Exchange to move certain user accounts to the spam list and block these senders as a result. Subsequent adjustments may therefore be necessary.

Administrators have the option of changing the guidelines for spam in the settings and thus deactivating the automatic blind copy. This keeps the inbox clean. On the other hand, such a malfunction will probably only be noticed later.

Get to know Microsoft Exchange with skill it

In order to use Microsoft Exchange correctly and prevent internal problems, the basics should be known. Although this does not protect against incorrect global settings, it does provide internal security when dealing with emails and messaging in general.

In our four-day Microsoft 365 Messaging training , you will learn the key elements of messaging with Microsoft 365, based on Microsoft Exchange. Our course goes far beyond dealing with emails. From message security and compliance in Microsoft 365 to managing the entire messaging environment, you will learn the basics and delve deeper into the topic and the Microsoft Exchange software.