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Board questions ‘Abnormal’ email security after legitimate messages bounced
Summary
The board heard from CIO Colbert about an AI‑driven security tool (Abnormal) that flags atypical emails to block spear‑phishing. Members raised concerns that legitimate partner emails and community messages were bounced after Microsoft tightening; staff said they will review blocked messages and improve customer‑service follow‑up.
Board member Pearson asked for a plain‑English description of the district’s new Abnormal email security product and expressed concern about legitimate emails being bounced to outside partners and community contacts.
CIO Colbert explained that Abnormal models the district’s normal email behavior and flags messages that deviate from those patterns, which helps detect targeted spear‑phishing attacks that traditional spam filters miss. "It starts to understand what is normal, and then it starts to drop off the stuff that is abnormal," Colbert said.
Pearson described recent incidents where partner emails — including those from courts and scholarship references — were bounced, and said the district must preserve customer service while tightening security. Colbert said some of the bounce issues were caused by Microsoft configuration changes and insecure third‑party partner mail systems used to relay messages; he said staff will spend more time reviewing blocked emails and work with partners to reduce disruption.
The board asked about contingency funds for unexpected incidents; Colbert said the district can call in additional resources if something serious occurs and that he has asked staff to monitor blocks closely and to coordinate with partners (Greg Lukasz and team were named as contacts).
No procurement vote was taken in the committee; staff answered questions on implementation, monitoring and mitigation measures.
