What are DMARC, DKIM, and SPF? Why is it necessary for every organization?

What are DMARC, DKIM, and SPF? Why is it necessary for every organization?

DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are all protocols that can be implemented for email authentication to ensure security of email channels and improve email deliverability.

DKIM DomainKeys Identified Mail or DKIM is an email authentication technique that assures the security of your emails while they are being sent. Digital signatures are used by DKIM to verify that an email was sent from a given domain.

DKIM verifies email messages in two phases. The first happens on a server that sends DKIM-signed emails, while the second happens on a server that receives DKIM-signed emails and checks them.

These two DKIM procedures are enabled by a pair of private and public keys. Either on the email server or with the ESP, the private key is kept secret and safe. To facilitate message verification, the public key is added to the domain's DNS records and publicized to the world. This is achieved by encrypting all outgoing emails with a digital signature. When the receiving server verifies that the email has a valid DKIM signature, it may be regarded as legitimate and safe.

SPF Like DKIM, Sender Policy Framework or SPF is an email authentication technology. The SPF protocol allows the domain owner to select which email servers are allowed to send emails from that domain.

SPF detects bogus sender addresses when the email is being sent. It is restricted, however, to identifying a forged sender claim in the email's envelope, which is used when the email bounces.

SPF detects email spoofing, a popular phishing scheme in which a reputable organization or trusted friend's email address or domain name is used.

During delivery, SPF allows the receiver server to check if the email was received from an IP address allowed by the domain's administrator. This is only allowed if the DNS records for that domain include a list of approved transmitting hosts and IP addresses.

DMARC Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication standard or protocol that determines whether or not an email is authentic. The authenticity status of emails is determined using SPF and DKIM. It gives you visibility of the sources sending emails from your domain, improves deliverability, and protects your domain from spoofing, phishing, and impersonation threats.

Phishing efforts will cost $1.9 billion in 2020. Massive data breaches and spoofing attacks have impacted corporations all over the world in recent years. The information and money that were lost will never be recovered. As a result, organizations must develop tight email practices in order to better protect their data and money.

There are several advantages to using these protocols. We've compiled a list of the most important of them: Using a DMARC record secures your image by preventing unauthenticated parties from sending emails using your domain.

SPF improves domain reputation and email deliverability while fighting domain impersonation and email spoofing to protect your brand reputation.

DKIM can help identify emails that aren’t spam and don't need to be filtered. This can be done if a receiving system maintains a whitelist of secure sending domains, a record of which can be kept locally or obtained from third-party certifiers. Receiving servers can then skip the filtering of signed emails from these white-listed domains and filter the remaining emails more aggressively.

Why does every brand need to use these three together?

In DMARC, SPF and DKIM are combined. SPF allows the domain owner to choose which addresses are permitted to send emails on their behalf, and DKIM uses an encrypted signature to verify that the email sender is truly who they say they are. Both of these methods create unique authenticating identities, which may be used to authenticate and validate emails in a number of ways. Your receiving server will be able to see who an email is from if you utilize these technologies, but it will not be able to tell if your traffic is properly set up. As a result, it is unable to act on such information.

DMARC, on the other hand, relies on SPF and DKIM results to verify whether an email is from a legitimate sender or a phony impostor. It actively prevents cyber attacks by enforcing a policy that domain owners have published. That's correct! Domain owners may use DMARC to instruct receiving servers on how to process emails, providing them total control over their domain's operations.

To implement DKIM, SPF, and DMARC protocols effectively, follow these simple steps: 

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Use email tracking on all your applications.

Email tracking will regulate and track gaps in the authentication. Ensure that all email apps are configured with DMARC, DKIM, and SPF. Use proper syntax and correct records for each domain.

The wrong syntax leads to the failure of email authentication. Keep the correct syntax in mind while implementing these protocols for your domain.

Implement all three protocols in order for them to work in synergy.

DMARC, SPF, and DKIM work best when used together. It is advised that you implement all these protocols for your domains to avoid being phished, spoofed, and spammed.

Use EmailAuth’s free DMARC, DKIM, and SPF checker to check your records in the DNS and stay prepared for the fight against phishing.