What are DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records and why are they important?

Why is DMARC important, and what does it mean?

A more thorough validation of every email message received is carried out by the email authentication protocol known as DMARC, or Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, which makes use of SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and/or DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) checks. 

DMARC is important for many reasons: 

1. Brand Protection: DMARC can stop spoofing messages that could harm a brand’s reputation with consumers.
2. Visibility: DMARC enables domain owners to keep an eye on emails sent using their domain to make sure they are properly authenticated using SPF and/or DKIM.
3. Security: Dispatching Malware Using DMARC helps shield users from phishing scams that could jeopardize an organization’s security.
4. Stops Spoofing: DMARC stops spammers from using your domain to send emails without your consent, a practice known as spoofing.
5. Control of Email Delivery: DMARC gives you complete control over email delivery for your company’s domain. Otherwise, spammers can spoof the “From” address on messages to make them appear to come from a user in your domain.

When domain owners implement DMARC, they can combat phishing, spoofing, and business email compromise. Email delivery control and domain security are made possible by this open and free technical specification that anybody can use. DMARC is an essential part of a company’s email security and deliverability plan, since it offers security, visibility, and brand protection. 

How can I implement DMARC for my domain?

DMARC implementation for your domain requires the following steps 

1. Recognize DMARC: Become familiar with the DMARC protocol and its operation.
2. Evaluate Your Email Infrastructure: List all the email sources used by your company, including any outside vendors that send emails on your behalf.
3. Configure SPF and DKIM: These two email authentication techniques are necessary for DMARC to function. Domain owners can designate which IP addresses are permitted to send emails from their domain by using SPF. A recipient can verify that an organization is responsible for a message thanks to DKIM.
4. Create Your DMARC Record: Your domain’s DNS records acquire a TXT record to be added to your domain.
5. Specify Your DMARC Policy: Email servers follow this policy when handling emails that don’t pass DMARC checks.
6. Release Records for DMARC: In the DNS for your domain, add the DMARC record.
7. Monitor and Examine DMARC Reports: These reports offer insightful information about your email ecosystem and assist you in determining which email senders are authorized and unauthorized.
8. Rectify Email Streams: Make the required changes to DKIM, DMARC, and SPF to guarantee that authentic sources pass.
9. Strict DMARC Restrictions: Switch from accept to quarantine (full DMARC implementation) mode to reject mode.
10. Keep DMARC up to date and monitor it: To guarantee continued effectiveness, check your DMARC configuration and reports regularly.

What is DKIM and why is it important?

DKIM, or Domain Keys Identified Mail, is an email security standard that aids in identifying whether messages are changed while being sent or received between mail servers. Using public-key cryptography, DKIM authentication verifies the origin of the email, and the consistency of the message’s parts included in the DKIM signature, by using the private key of a responsible party to sign the message as it leaves the sending server. Recipient servers then use a public key published to the DKIM’s domain to confirm these details. 

DKIM is important for many reasons: 

1. Email deliverability and legitimacy: DKIM verifies your authority as the sender.
2. Avoid Spoofing: DKIM makes it more difficult to spoof sender email domains.
3. Improved Brand Reputation: DKIM also helps ISPs to build a domain’s reputation. Receivers view emails signed with DKIM as more authentic, so they’re less likely to wind up in the spam or junk mail folders. And emails signed with DKIM look more authentic to recipients.
4. Compatibility: DKIM integrates with SPF and DMARC to offer additional security layers for email domains. It is compatible with current email infrastructure.

Steps involved in setting up DKIM for your domain

1. Create a Public-Private Key Pair: To create a public-private key pair, use a tool of your choice, such as OpenSSL.
2. Set up the DNS for Your Domain: Make a new TXT DNS record and add the public key to it. If you choose a name for the entry, it should be named [selector]._domainkey.yourdomain.com
3. Turn on DKIM Signing: To do this, set up your email server to use the private key to sign emails that are sent out. Your email server may have an impact on the details of this step.
4. Examine your configuration: Examine the email headers after sending a test email to a domain that isn’t related to you, like Gmail. There should be a line in the headers indicating if your DKIM configuration is correct.

The specific steps to set up DKIM can vary based on your email server and domain registrar, and it can be a technical process. It is always a good idea to make sure everything is configured correctly by consulting the documentation your services have provided or by working with an IT specialist. 

What is an SPF record?

An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record is a kind of DNS record that indicates what mail servers are allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain. An SPF record serves as a defense against spammers. They attempt to send emails to accounts registered under your domain using forged “From” addresses.  

To confirm that a server authorized by the domain owner sent an email, the receiving mail server examines the domain’s SPF record in the “From” address when it receives the email. If the SPF record does not include the server, the email may be rejected or labeled as spam. SPF records play a crucial role in preventing phishing attempts that try to use your domain. 

Relationship between SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

Three essential elements of contemporary email authentication are SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance). Together, they offer a thorough email authentication system.  

By using SPF, a domain owner designates the servers permitted to send emails on their behalf. This process helps someone verify whether an individual is employed by a company, much like a publicly accessible employee directory. SPF records list all the IP addresses of servers authorized to send emails from the domain.

To enable the sender to digitally sign emails we use a private/public key pair with DKIM . By using cryptography to mathematically confirm that the email originated from the domain, the DKIM “signature” is a digital signature. DKIM specifically uses Public key cryptography. 

DMARC is layered on top of. It gives receiving email servers’ guidance on what to do if they receive non-authenticated mail. Mail servers can choose to treat failing emails as “spam,” deliver them anyhow. Or, discard them entirely, based on the instructions provided by DMARC if DKIM or SPF fail. 

DMARC offers guidance on how to handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks. Also, SPF aids in identifying approved mail servers and DKIM confirms the authenticity of the sender and the email’s content. Together, they aid in preventing emails from being sent on behalf of a domain that is not owned by spammers, phishers, or other unauthorized parties. eMazzanti professionals can help you set up these and other solutions that will help to safeguard your operations.