EMAIL SECURITY SERVICE AGREEMENT

Last Updated: June 2026

This Email Security Service Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into between Affordable Computer Solutions 1, INC (“ACS”) and the Customer identified on the applicable quote, proposal, invoice, service agreement, or recurring service subscription. 

1. SERVICE DESCRIPTION

ACS provides email security services utilizing Proofpoint Essentials and related technologies to help reduce the risk of spam, phishing attacks, malware, ransomware, malicious links, impersonation attacks, and other email-based threats. 

Email security services are designed to reduce risk and improve email security posture but do not guarantee the prevention, detection, or blocking of every malicious message, threat, attack, or unauthorized communication. 

Email security services are not an insurance policy, warranty program, or guarantee against cyberattacks, business email compromise, phishing attacks, malware infections, ransomware incidents, data loss, fraud, or business interruption. 

Unless specifically stated in writing, labor, support, troubleshooting, remediation, consulting, incident response, recovery assistance, and user training are billed separately from the monthly service fee. 

2. INCLUDED SERVICES

Services may include: 

  • Proofpoint Essentials Email Security
  • Anti-Spam Protection
  • Anti-Phishing Protection
  • Malware and Virus Filtering
  • URL Defense and Link Protection where licensed
  • Attachment Defense where licensed
  • Email Continuity Services where licensed
  • Inbound Email Filtering
  • Outbound Email Filtering
  • Email Reputation Protection
  • Message Quarantine Management
  • Security Policy Management
  • Email Security Monitoring
  • Mail Flow Monitoring
  • Security Reporting and Alerting

Coverage is limited to features licensed and supported by the Proofpoint platform at the time services are provided. 

3. CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES

The Customer is responsible for: 

  • Maintaining active Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, or supported email services.
  • Maintaining valid user licensing.
  • Promptly notifying ACS of email platform changes.
  • Maintaining appropriate DNS access and records when required.
  • Educating users on safe email practices.
  • Promptly reporting suspected phishing attempts or security incidents.
  • Reviewing quarantine notifications and digest reports when provided.
  • Maintaining cyber liability insurance if desired.

The Customer remains responsible for user actions taken in response to emails, links, attachments, or requests received through email systems. 

4. INCLUDED NON-BILLABLE SERVICES

ACS will provide the following services without additional labor charges: 

  • Monitoring of Proofpoint service health.
  • Initial investigation of email delivery issues.
  • Initial investigation of mail flow alerts.
  • Initial investigation of quarantine-related issues.
  • Release of legitimate messages from quarantine.
  • Review of false-positive detections.
  • Management of standard filtering policies.
  • Monitoring of service outages affecting multiple users.
  • Resolution of platform-wide service issues.

ACS will investigate mail flow issues and determine the probable cause of the issue at no additional charge. 

If the issue is determined to be caused by tenant configuration changes, DNS changes, Microsoft 365 changes, Google Workspace changes, mailbox configuration changes, user actions, transport rule changes, connector changes, third-party email services, or other customer-controlled environments, any labor required to remediate, repair, reconfigure, or restore service functionality shall be billable at ACS’s then-current hourly labor rate. 

5. BILLABLE SERVICES

The following services are not included in the monthly service fee and shall be billed at ACS’s then-current hourly labor rate: 

  • Phishing incident remediation.
  • Business email compromise investigations.
  • Malware remediation.
  • Ransomware remediation.
  • User security awareness training.
  • Mailbox compromise investigations.
  • Email forensic investigations.
  • Tenant recovery services.
  • Message trace investigations beyond initial review.
  • DNS repair and reconfiguration.
  • SPF record configuration or repair.
  • DKIM configuration or repair.
  • DMARC configuration or repair.
  • Mail flow redesign.
  • Third-party email service integration.
  • Microsoft 365 remediation.
  • Google Workspace remediation.
  • After-hours support requests.
  • Onsite support requests.
  • Emergency response services.

Examples of Billable Events 

  • A Microsoft 365 administrator modifies connectors causing mail flow issues.
  • DNS records are changed causing Proofpoint mail routing failures.
  • A user clicks a phishing email and account remediation is required.
  • SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records require repair or reconfiguration.
  • Tenant changes prevent mail from flowing through Proofpoint properly.
  • A mailbox compromise requires investigation and remediation.

6. EMAIL SECURITY LIMITATIONS

Email security platforms utilize automated threat detection technologies, reputation services, machine learning systems, and content analysis to identify potentially malicious messages. 

The Customer acknowledges that: 

  • No email security platform can block every threat.
  • New threats may not be immediately identifiable.
  • Legitimate messages may occasionally be quarantined.
  • Malicious messages may occasionally be delivered.
  • Users remain an essential part of overall security.

Proofpoint and ACS cannot guarantee detection or prevention of every phishing attempt, malware delivery, social engineering attack, spoofing attempt, or fraudulent communication. 

7. THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE AND VENDOR SERVICES

This service utilizes third-party technologies including Proofpoint, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other supporting vendors. 

ACS does not own, operate, or control these services and makes no representations regarding: 

  • Vendor uptime.
  • Vendor cloud availability.
  • Vendor threat detection effectiveness.
  • Vendor support response times.
  • Vendor feature availability.
  • Vendor licensing changes.
  • Vendor policy changes.
  • Vendor product changes.

Vendor outages, service interruptions, licensing modifications, product discontinuations, or feature changes shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement by ACS. 

8. NO WARRANTY

Email security services are provided on a commercially reasonable effort basis. 

ACS makes no warranty, express or implied, that: 

  • Every malicious email will be blocked.
  • Every phishing email will be detected.
  • Every malware attachment will be prevented.
  • Every malicious URL will be blocked.
  • Every email will be delivered successfully.
  • Email services will remain continuously available.
  • Security incidents will be prevented.

The Customer acknowledges that email security reduces risk but cannot eliminate risk. 

9. CYBERSECURITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Customer acknowledges that email remains one of the primary attack vectors used by cybercriminals. 

The Customer understands that no email security solution can guarantee complete protection against: 

  • Phishing attacks.
  • Spear phishing attacks.
  • Business email compromise.
  • Social engineering attacks.
  • Malware delivery.
  • Ransomware delivery.
  • Credential theft.
  • Account compromise.
  • Fraudulent communications.
  • Zero-day threats.

The Customer understands that security solutions reduce risk but cannot eliminate risk. 

10. QUARANTINE MANAGEMENT

Proofpoint may quarantine messages that are determined to be suspicious, potentially malicious, or otherwise in violation of configured security policies. 

The Customer acknowledges and agrees that: 

  • Legitimate messages may occasionally be quarantined.
  • Suspicious messages may occasionally be delivered.
  • Release of quarantined messages does not constitute a guarantee of safety.
  • ACS is not responsible for the contents of messages released from quarantine at the Customer’s request.

Release of quarantined messages and review of false-positive detections are included services and are not billable. 

11. TERM AND CANCELLATION

Services are provided on a month-to-month basis unless otherwise stated in writing. 

Either party may terminate service with thirty (30) days written notice. 

There are no cancellation penalties or early termination fees. 

Offboarding services are billable and include: 

  • Removal of mail routing configurations.
  • Removal of mail connectors.
  • Removal of tenant integrations.
  • Removal of monitoring and alerting configurations.
  • Account closure and documentation updates.

Offboarding services shall be billed at a minimum of fifteen (5) minutes per protected mailbox at ACS’s then-current hourly labor rate. 

This minimum charge applies regardless of the actual time required to complete the offboarding process. 

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

ACS’s total aggregate liability under this Agreement shall not exceed the total fees paid by the Customer for Email Security services during the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim. 

ACS shall not be liable for: 

  • Phishing-related losses.
  • Fraud losses.
  • Business email compromise losses.
  • Lost data.
  • Lost profits.
  • Lost revenue.
  • Business interruption.
  • Regulatory penalties.
  • Consequential damages.
  • Indirect damages.
  • Incidental damages.

Regardless of cause. 

13. FORCE MAJEURE

ACS shall not be liable for delays or failures caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control including internet outages, cloud provider failures, vendor outages, cyberattacks affecting third-party providers, utility failures, natural disasters, acts of government, labor disputes, supply chain disruptions, acts of war, or terrorism. 

14. ACCEPTANCE OF VENDOR TERMS

The Customer acknowledges that this service utilizes third-party technologies including Proofpoint and Microsoft 365 and may also integrate with Google Workspace or other supported email platforms. 

The Customer agrees to comply with all applicable vendor licensing requirements, usage restrictions, and service terms imposed by such vendors. 

Any violation of vendor licensing requirements shall be the sole responsibility of the Customer. 

15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between ACS and the Customer regarding Email Security services and supersedes all prior discussions, representations, and understandings relating to such services. 

By accepting a proposal, quote, invoice, recurring service subscription, or utilizing the services described herein, the Customer acknowledges and agrees to the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement.