Existing tools help users reduce PII breaches

Members of 24th Air Force are refurbishing an old e-mail tool to help Air Force users reduce breaches of personally identifiable information.

The Digital Signature Enforcement Tool, which currently prompts users to provide a digital signature when an e-mail contains an active hyperlink or attachment, is being reconfigured to scan e-mails and attachments for PII. DSET was first introduced to Outlook in 2009 by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

“DSET was originally designed to mitigate risk from socially-engineered e-mail or phishing attacks. Now, it provides some protection of messages transmitting PII,” said Alonzo Pugh, cyber business system analyst for 24th AF. “The tool provides awareness for users of risks before the e-mail leaves the workstation, giving users the chance to correct the identified risk.”
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