PowerDMARC

What is DMARC? Guide to DMARC Email

Maitham Al Lawati
DMARC.-What-is-it-and-how-does-it-WorkDMARC.-What-is-it-and-how-does-it-Work

Key Takeaways:

  1. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that prevents email spoofing, phishing, and fraud by verifying sender authenticity.
  2. DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM to ensure only authorized senders can use your domain, protecting against malicious emails and improving deliverability.
  3. DMARC safeguards your domain from being misused for phishing or spoofing, maintaining customer trust and brand integrity.
  4. DMARC generates reports on email activity, helping identify unauthorized senders, spoofing attempts, and authentication failures.
  5. Domain owners can set DMARC policies (e.g., reject, quarantine, or monitor) for emails that fail authentication, ensuring better control over email traffic.
  6. DMARC is increasingly required by major email providers like Google and Yahoo, and it helps meet industry compliance standards like PCI-DSS.

What is DMARC?

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is an email authentication protocol designed to combat email fraud and phishing attacks. By verifying email senders and providing detailed reports on email activity, DMARC helps organizations improve email security and protect their domain reputation. It enables domain owners to set specific policies for how their emails should be authenticated and how to handle unauthorized messages. Essentially, DMARC allows companies to say:
“Emails from our domain must meet these specific criteria. If they don’t, they should be treated as suspicious.”

DMARC builds on two existing protocols, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), to ensure that only authorized senders can use a domain. Organizations can use DMARC to specify actions for emails that fail authentication, such as rejecting, quarantining, or delivering them.

What Does DMARC Stand For?

DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance.

Each part of the acronym reflects a critical aspect of how DMARC works:

Domain-based: DMARC runs at the domain level.

Message Authentication: DMARC allows domain owners to designate the authentication protocols. These are used to validate incoming email messages. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) are two such protocols.

Reporting: You can enable feedback reports within your DMARC configuration. Following this, receiving MTAs will send over XML reports to your defined email address. These reports may contain DMARC aggregate or forensic data.

Conformance: Email domain owners can use DMARC to describe the actions of receiving mail servers in the form of policies. These actions are implemented once an email fails the DMARC checks.

Why is DMARC Important?

DMARC plays a critical role in enhancing email security by:

By implementing and maintaining a robust DMARC policy, businesses can significantly enhance their email security posture, protect their brand reputation, and ensure the effective delivery of legitimate email communications.

Simplify DMARC with PowerDMARC!

How DMARC Works

DMARC enhances email security by adding a layer of policy enforcement on top of existing authentication methods: SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). So when an email is sent from your domain:

  1. Email Sending: The email undergoes SPF and DKIM checks.
  2. Email Reception: The receiving server performs the following checks:
    • SPF Check: Verifies if the sending IP address is authorized.
    • DKIM Check: Validates the email’s digital signature to ensure it hasn’t been tampered with.
  3. DMARC Policy Enforcement:
    • If the email passes both SPF and DKIM checks, it is delivered normally.
    • If the email fails either check, the receiving server applies the DMARC policy (e.g., quarantine or reject).
  4. Reporting: The receiving server generates reports on email authentication results and sends them to the addresses specified in your DMARC record.

By following these steps, DMARC ensures that only legitimate emails from your domain reach recipients, while unauthorized or fraudulent emails are blocked or flagged. This not only enhances email security but also protects your brand reputation and improves deliverability.

How to Configure DMARC?

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to configure DMARC:

1. Configure SPF and DKIM

Before implementing DMARC, ensure SPF and DKIM are properly configured for your domain:

These protocols form the foundation for DMARC to function effectively.

2. Create a DMARC Record

A DMARC record is a DNS (Domain Name System) entry that specifies your email authentication policy. It includes:

3. Select a DMARC Policy

DMARC policies tell email receivers how to handle messages that fail authentication checks. You can choose from three policy modes:

4. Publish Your DMARC Record

Once your DMARC record is created, publish it in your DNS settings:

This makes your DMARC policy accessible to email receivers.

5. Verify Your DMARC Setup

Use a DMARC checker tool to ensure your DMARC record is correctly published and functioning as expected. This step helps identify and resolve any configuration errors.

6. Enable Reporting

Once DMARC is set up, you can activate reporting to gain insights into your email traffic:

These reports help you identify unauthorized senders, spoofing attempts, and other issues.

What Does DMARC Record Look Like?

The structure of a DMARC record is defined in the DNS (Domain Name System) as a TXT record associated with the domain. It contains several tags including ones that specify the policy mode and reporting options. Here’s an example of what a DMARC record might look like:

_dmarc.example.com. IN TXT v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com; ruf=mailto:forensics@example.com; sp=reject;

In this example:

DMARC, SPF, and DKIM: The Trio of Email Security

Implementing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM together creates a powerful, multi-layered defense against email spoofing, phishing, and other email-based threats. Here’s why combining these protocols is essential for robust email security:

  1. Comprehensive Protection
    • SPF verifies that emails are sent from authorized IP addresses.
    • DKIM ensures email integrity by adding a digital signature that confirms the message hasn’t been tampered with.
    • DMARC enforces policies based on SPF and DKIM results, ensuring only legitimate emails are delivered.

    This combination offers strong protection against spoofing, phishing, and unauthorized senders.

  2. Enhanced Email Deliverability
    By authenticating emails and aligning them with domain policies, these protocols reduce the chances of legitimate emails being flagged as spam or rejected. This ensures your messages reach the intended recipients.
  3. Brand Reputation Protection
    Email spoofing and phishing attacks can damage your brand’s reputation and erode customer trust. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC prevent unauthorized use of your domain, safeguarding your brand’s integrity.
  4. Improved Security
    These protocols block malicious actors from sending fraudulent emails on behalf of your domain. By ensuring only legitimate emails are delivered, they strengthen your overall email security and reduce cyber threats.
  5. Reporting and Visibility
    DMARC provides detailed reports on authentication results, helping you identify and address issues like spoofing attempts, unauthorized senders, and misconfigurations. This enhances your email security strategy.

Why Use All Three?

DMARC, SPF, and DKIM work best together:

Key Benefits at a Glance

Protocol Role Key Benefit
SPF Verifies sender IP addresses Prevents spoofing by ensuring emails come from authorized servers.
DKIM Adds a digital signature to emails Ensures email integrity and prevents tampering.
DMARC Enforces policies based on SPF and DKIM results Blocks unauthorized emails and provides reporting insights.

By implementing all three protocols, you create a strong defense against email threats while improving deliverability, protecting your brand, and gaining valuable insights into your email ecosystem.

Challenges and Considerations

While DMARC is powerful, it’s not without challenges:

The Future of Email Authentication

As cyber threats evolve, so too must our defenses. DMARC is a significant step forward, but it’s part of a broader ecosystem of email security measures. Future developments might include:

PowerDMARC’s Cloud-Based DMARC Solution

As a business owner maintaining an online domain, having DMARC implemented serves as a feather in your cap in terms of security. While you can do so manually, there are certain additional benefits of choosing a third-party vendor like PowerDMARC. With us, you get a host of reporting, management, and monitoring facilities at a very affordable rate. These don’t fall within the scope of a manual DMARC setup and can really make a difference for your business!

By configuring our DMARC analyzer you can:

  1. Configure hosted DMARC and other email authentication protocols easily
  2. Monitor your authentication results through simplified, human-readable reports
  3. Get real-time alerts on email, slack, discord, and webhooks
  4. Improve your email deliverability over time

Our customers enjoy dedicated support from our in-house DMARC experts to configure the solutions tailored to their needs. Get in touch with us today for a free DMARC trial!

“Extensively searched for a high-value DMARC platform and found it!”

Dylan B.

DMARC FAQs

Latest posts by Maitham Al Lawati (see all)
Exit mobile version