Microsoft removes automatic email forwarding function

On 28 August, the LCA IT Department alerted users of its services that Microsoft is changing the functionality of automatic email forwarding, effective from 1 September.

The new security measure introduced globally by Microsoft will have no impact on people who use their LCA email account for their LCA work (paid or volunteer). It will not affect anyone who receives an email in their LCA mailbox and manually selects the Forward function to send the email to one or more persons or a group.

Also, the new security measure does not change users’ ability to set up rules within their LCA accounts that allow them to automatically direct certain emails to folders, including junk mail etc.

The new measure will, however, disallow automatic forwarding of emails, for example, anyone who has an automatic-forward rule set up on their LCA mailbox to direct all incoming emails to their private account without even landing in their LCA mailbox.

LCA IT advises that there is an easy way to minimise the impact of this change. To help users more easily manage their LCA and private email accounts, they have created a ‘how-to’ document for setting up two email accounts in the one inbox. Click here for step-by-step instructions. This means very little disruption as users do not have to shift between different applications to get their emails.

Microsoft’s introduction of this security measure means that some people will have to do things differently. However, as outlined above, it is possible to minimise any short-term inconvenience. Against the backdrop of increased cyber attacks globally, the impact of which the LCA/NZ has experienced first-hand, LCA IT supports Microsoft’s responsible action and asks that church members work with them to help to make our LCA/NZ IT users as secure as we possibly can.