Everything You Need to Know to DMARC

1. Reasons Why You Need to Get on Board with DMARC Now! As the Internet continually evolves, So too does its architecture. The new generation of protocols, standards and technologies that have emerged as a result are all helping to ensure that the Internet is more secure than ever before. Among these new developments is DMARC ( or Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), an authentication system that helps prevent email spoofing. It’s important for organizations to understand what this protocol can do for them and why it’s time to get on board with DMARC now. What is DMARC?

2. DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. It’s an authentication protocol that aims to prevent email spoofing across the Internet. The protocol works by associating a set of rules with each organizational domain. These rules determine what to do if a fraudulent or malicious email is discovered. As the protocol matures, it’s expected to become the standard for authenticating emails in the same way that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) are the standards for authenticating domain ownership. DMARC is a joint effort by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL. It was first proposed back in 2011 but only recently gained steam. Why is DMARC Important? Email spoofing has long been used as a method for tricking people into clicking on Malicious links that led them to huge losses. Even though it’s been around for decades, spoofing emails is still one of the most common forms of cybercrime. This is because the technique is easy to execute and very difficult to trace. It’s estimated that around 9% of all emails are fraudulent with the number rising to over 80% in some sectors. Email spoofing is so common that it’s even used by legitimate organizations for instance when you click on links in newsletters. It’s important to note that DMARC is useless if your company isn’t using SPF and DKIM. This protocol authenticates domain ownership, while DMARC authenticates emails. Together, they make it much more difficult for cybercriminals to spoof emails from your company. How Does DMARC Work? DMARC works by analyzing the headers of emails sent from your domain. If the authentication fails, it’ll be sent to the specified mailbox for analysis. Generally speaking, DMARC will automatically flag emails that fail authentication as suspicious. This is followed by an analysis that determines whether the email is likely to be fraudulent. Finally, the details of the fraudulent email are sent to the specified mailbox. This mailbox can be used to feed an organization’s threat intelligence database. The authentication methods used by DMARC are pretty straightforward to authenticate the domain, the sender will include a special header called DMARC. From there, the system will check the following: - The email address of the sender. - The IP address of the sender. - Whether the

3. subdomain used for the mailbox is legitimate. - Whether the mailbox is legitimate. If any of these checks fail, the email is flagged and sent to the mailbox specified in the DMARC record. If everything checks out, the email is delivered to the inbox. Things you need to Know About DMARC 1. First, it’s important to understand that DMARC isn’t designed to be turned on and left off. It’s designed to be put into action. This is something that both email marketers and IT professionals need to keep in mind before deciding whether or not to adopt this protocol. Second, DMARC isn’t a silver bullet. Like any technology, it has its limitations. It can’t, for example, tell you where a link in an email leads. It can only detect whether or not the email was spoofed. With that in mind, organizations should think carefully when deciding which emails to authenticate via DMARC. Third, DMARC can be challenging to implement. That’s because different technologies and services have to be integrated to enable this protocol. That said, the benefits of DMARC far outweigh the effort required to implement it. 2. Suspicious Emails can be easily discovered via DMARC. when a fraudulent email is discovered in some cases, the message is simply sent back to the sender. In others, it’s sent back with a warning letting the sender know that something’s not quite right. In other cases, the email is blocked entirely. This is especially common for emails that contain malicious links. It’s also possible for the email to be redirected to an address specified in the DMARC record. In some cases, the recipient might even receive a copy of the email along with a notice that the original message was blocked. 3. Fraudulent Emails can be discovered via DMPD. DMARC is used to discover emails sent from an address not associated with your domain. This is known as a “spoofed” email. In some cases, the messages will be sent back to the sender. In others, the sender will receive a warning that the message wasn’t delivered to the intended recipient. This is particularly common when the message is sent to an organizational email account for instance the IT department. Email spoofing is

4. a common tactic used by scammers who want to trick people into visiting malicious websites. It’s estimated that around 9% of all emails are fraudulent with the number rising to over 80% in some sectors. DMARC can also be used to discover emails sent from an address not associated with your domain. 4. What happens when an email is sent to a mailbox that’s not explicitly included in the DMARC record? In this case, the email is sent back to the sender with a notice that it was rejected. In other words, the mailbox specified in the DMARC record doesn’t exist. This is particularly common in organizations that don’t have a dedicated mailbox for incoming emails sent in response to DMARC. In some cases, the sender will receive a message letting them know that their email was rejected. In other cases, the sender will receive the message without the recipient’s knowledge. This is particularly common when organizations are debugging their DMARC implementation. It’s important to note that emails sent to nonexistent mailboxes will be rejected regardless of whether or not DMARC is enabled. Conclusion Spoofed emails are one of the most common forms of cybercrime. That’s why it’s important for organizations to adopt DMARC to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to spoof emails from their domain. DMARC is an authentication protocol that can be used to authenticate domain ownership and detect fraudulent emails sent from a domain. It works by analyzing the headers of emails sent from a domain and comparing them with rules specified in a DMARC record. DMARC can also be used to discover emails sent from an address not associated with a domain using internal monitoring. It’s important for organizations to understand what DMARC can do for them and why it’s time to get on board with DMARC now. To Know more about DMARC visit our Website.