If you feel like you have been hearing more about email authentication lately, there is a good chance that you are right. The need for enhanced email authentication is mainly due to the continued prevalence of phishing as a major security threat and the leading cause of data breaches. In fact, many email service providers are making email authentication a requirement. Google and Yahoo, two of the world's largest email providers, implemented a new DMARC policy targeted at businesses in February 2024 that makes email authentication essential. But what is DMARC, and why is it suddenly so important? Let's dive into the world of email authentication to understand why it's more critical than ever for your business.

The Email Spoofing Problem

Phishing attacks have been a problem for some time, but the problem has only gotten worse with the advent of email spoofing. Email spoofing is where scammers disguise their email addresses to appear as legitimate individuals or organizations. Scammers spoof a business's email address and then email customers and vendors pretending to be that business. These email spoofing phishing attacks can cause reputational damage and financial losses, potentially harming future business. With the ever-growing problem email spoofing creates, email authentication has become essential.

What is Email Authentication?

Email authentication is a method of verifying that an email is legitimate and actually comes from whom it claims to be. The core of email authentication is verifying the server sending the email and reporting back unauthorized uses of a company domain. There are three key protocols that are used for proper email authentication:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Records the IP addresses authorized to send email for a domain.
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Allows domain owners to digitally "sign" emails, verifying legitimacy.
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): Instructs a receiving email server on what to do with the results of an SPF and DKIM check and alerts domain owners if their domain is being spoofed. These steps are vital for enforcing cybersecurity and stopping spoofing attempts.

How Does DMARC Work?

1. You set up a DMARC record in your domain server settings. This record informs email receivers (like Google and Yahoo) what IP addresses are authorized to send emails on your behalf.
2. Your sent email arrives at the receiver's mail server, which is looking to see if the email is from an authorized sender.
3. Based on your DMARC policy, the receiver can choose which action to take: delivery, rejection, or quarantine.
4. You get a report back from the DMARC authentication. The report lets you know if your business email is being delivered or if scammers are spoofing your domain.

Why Google & Yahoo's New DMARC Policy Matters

Both Google and Yahoo have offered spam filtering for some time, but they haven't enforced DMARC policies until recently in order to increase cybersecurity for everyone using their services. The main effect of the policy is that businesses that send over 5,000 emails daily must implement DMARC. Both companies also have policies for businesses sending fewer than 5,000 emails. You need to comply with these policies to ensure the delivery of your business emails.

The Benefits of Implementing DMARC:

Thankfully, implementing DMARC provides more than just complying with new policies. It also offers several distinct benefits for your business:

• Improves email deliverability: Naturally, improving your email authentication improves their delivery rate and makes them less likely to end up in spam folders.
• Protects your reputation: DMARC helps prevent scammers from using your email domain for email spoofing scams that could damage your business's reputation and ruin your customers' trust.
• Provides valuable insights: The reports created by DMARC inform you how different receivers handle your emails, which can help you identify issues with your emails.

Taking Action: How to Put DMARC in Place

With the rise in email security concerns caused by email spoofing, DMARC is essential to modern cybersecurity. Here are some tips on how to get started:

• Research and understand what your DMARC options are.
• Consult your IT team/security provider about what you'll need to do to implement DMARC.
• Track its effectiveness and adjust the policy as needed.