Tag: DMARC

DMARC: Prevent Spoofing and Spam

Michelle

Did you know that more than 3.1 billion domain spoofing emails are sent per day? And over 25% of these get into Office 365, which has over 60 million commercial users.

That means the data of over 15 million people is at risk every day.

Let that sink in.

Even giants like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google aren’t safe from email spoofing. This raises the question: how can you protect your business from spoofing and spam emails that steal your data?

This is where Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) comes in. But how does DMARC protect your business from spoofing emails? Let’s find out.

What Is DMARC?

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) is a software protocol that takes care of emails that aren’t authenticated by the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).

It essentially protects both email senders and recipients from email spoofing, phishing, spam, and impersonation fraud, which is the most common cause of data leaks.

DMARC helps email users specify actions that need to be taken when incoming emails fail SPF and DKIM authentication. It does this by labeling emails that have failed to pass SPF and DKIM protocols.

Prevention Policies: How DMARC Handles Email Spoofing and Spam

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DMARC usually requires domain owners to add a policy (p=) tag in their DMARC record. The tag tells the protocol on how to deal with a suspicious email. There are three types of policy tags you could use to protect yourself against email spoofing and spam:

· The p=none policy — This policy gives users insights into who sent the DMARC-failed email but doesn’t stop the email from entering their inbox.

· The p=quarantine policy — This policy sends DMARC-failed emails into your spam folder, reducing the chance of you opening them.

· The p=reject policy — This policy stops DMARC-failed emails from coming into your inbox entirely. It prevents email spoofing attacks.

How to Implement a DMARC Policy to Handle Email Spoofing and Spam

Here’s a rule to follow: Don’t go too hard too fast. Let us explain. If you implement the p=reject policy directly, you may inadvertently block emails from your colleagues and friends, which can be a huge problem when collaborating on projects.

So, instead of doubling down on all suspicious emails, begin with the p=none policy first, collect data about the percentage of suspicious domains sending you emails, and input the percentage (using the pct option) into a quarantine policy.

For instance, if you find that 20% of the emails you receive are from suspicious domains, you should input that number into your quarantine policy like this: p=quarantine pct=20, which means 20% of the incoming messages will be quarantined.

You can increase this percentage as you become aware of other suspicious domains. Or you can even scrap this policy and instead use the reject policy once you reach the 100% suspicious domain mark. It’s entirely up to you.

DMARC

DMARC: Stop Hackers from Scamming Your Staff

Michelle

DMARC is a security protocol that helps organizations prevent email-based attacks. It stands for “Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance,” and it works by verifying the authenticity of email messages and stopping counterfeit notes from reaching their intended recipients.

DMARC is essential because it can help organizations stop hackers from impersonating their staff and sending out phishing emails that trick people into revealing sensitive information or infecting their computers with malware.

If you’re responsible for email security at your organization, then you need to be familiar with DMARC. In this article, we’ll explain what DMARC is and how it works. We’ll also provide tips on configuring DMARC for your organization.

How does DMARC work?

DMARC is a DNS record that tells your email provider what to do when they receive an email from your domain. When a user sends you an email, their provider will look up the DMARC record for the domain and see if that record exists. If it does not exist, their provider will send the email unread with a bounce message telling them that their message bounced back as spam.

DMARC Links to an external site.is built on top of SPF and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). SPF detects that the sender has access to your mail server, so you can trust them when sending messages through your server. DKIM uses public-key cryptography to authenticate messages sent from anonymous senders. DMARC adds another layer of security by verifying that the sender has access to your mail server and using public-key cryptography to show messages sent from unknown senders.

DMARC is a relatively new standard, but it is quickly gaining adopters. It is estimated that DMARC now protects over 30% of all email messages.

The benefits of DMARC

  • DMARC is an email authentication that helps organizations to protect their domain from email-based threats.
  • DMARC can help to prevent phishing attacks and other types of email fraud. It works by validating the sender of an email and verifying that the email has not been altered in transit.
  • DMARC also reports emails that fail authentication checks, so organizations can monitor their email security and take action to stop attacks.
  • DMARC, including improved email deliverability, increased security, and better insights into email traffic.

How to set up DMARC for your business?

Setting up DMARC can seem daunting, but it’s relatively simple. DMARC for your business in just a few easy steps.

  1. You’ll need to create a DMARC record for your domain. It is a TXT record that you’ll need to add to your DNS settings.
  2. Once you’ve created your DMARC Links to an external site.record, you’ll need to publish it to your DNS. It will allow recipients to check the legitimacy of emails from your domain.

Tips for preventing phishing attacks

Phishing attacks are a growing problem for businesses and individuals alike. These attacks trick you into giving up sensitive information, such as your passwords or credit card numbers. They can be tough to spot, but there are some things you can do to protect yourself.

Here are a few points to avoid phishing attacks:

  • Be suspicious of unsolicited emails, even if they appear to be from a legitimate source. It’s best to delete it without opening an email.
  • Don’t click on any links present in suspicious emails. These links are designed to steal your information.
  • Don’t reply to suspicious emails. If you do, you could be giving the attackers the information they need to successful phish you.
  • Please don’t enter your login credentials or financial information on a website unless you’re sure it’s a legitimate site. Check for the HTTP:// at the beginning of a website’s URL to ensure it’s a secure site.

It’s also possible by using Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) as an additional layer of security.

Conclusion

DMARC is a powerful tool that can stop hackers from scamming your staff. Hackers can trick your team into giving them sensitive information by sending spoofed emails that look like they’re from you. DMARC can stop these attacks by identifying and blocking spoofed emails. To protect your business, make sure to implement DMARC.

How DMARC Protects Businesses

Michelle

Did you know that one email in every 99 is a phishing attack? Or that around 25 percent of these emails usually make their way into inboxes? 

And the worst thing is that more than 97 percent of people can’t identify what a spam email looks like. So, many of them fall for socially engineered attacks like phishing, scareware, quid pro quo, and baiting. 

Even companies like Google, Facebook, and Target aren’t infallible. That raises the question: how can you protect your business from email phishing and other socially engineered attacks? 

This is where DMARC comes in. But what is DMARC, and how does it protect your business from phishing, email hijacking, or scareware? Let’s break it down. 

What Is DMARC?

Domain-based Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) is a technical protocol that handles emails that aren’t authenticated by DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and the Sender Policy Framework (SPF). 

It helps protect email senders and recipients from email phishing, spoofing, and impersonation fraud, which can be the source of data breaches and email compromises. DMARC allows domain owners to specify actions that need to be taken when an email fails DKIM and SPF authentication. 

Email receivers can check whether incoming messages have valid DKIM and SPF records and whether they align with the domain of origin. If these messages don’t comply with DKIM and SPF records, they are labeled DMARC-failed. 

How Does DMARC Handle Failed Email? 

You have the option to handle a DMARC-failed message based on three different DMARC policies, including: 

  • The Monitor Policy: p=none – It will provide insights into who sent a DMARC-failed email, but it won’t stop the email from reaching your primary inbox. 
  • The Quarantine Policy: p=quarantine – It will send DMARC-failed emails into the spam folder and DMARC-passed emails into your primary inbox, reducing the harm caused by spam emails.  
  • The Reject Policy: p=reject – It will stop DMARC-failed emails from reaching your inbox entirely, preventing phishing or spoofing attacks.  

4 Ways DMARC Protects Businesses

DMARC aims to protect businesses and users from socially engineered attacks. Here’s how it accomplishes that goal:

  1. It Increases Domain Visibility

DMARC’s monitoring “p=none” policy reports all email activity, so you can assess all the emails sent from your domain, those you received, which emails were authenticated, those that weren’t authenticated, and for what reasons. 

  1. It Only Allows Certain Domains to Send Emails

If attackers use a trusted domain, they can penetrate your company’s defenses and deceive your employees or customers, often causing irreparable damage to your brand image and decreasing brand trust. 

DMARC can prevent that by only allowing authorized IPS to send emails from your domain. 

  1. It Blocks Fraudulent Emails 

DMARC’s reject policy allows you to control whether or not suspicious emails are delivered to your email. So, if a specific email doesn’t pass DKIM and SPF records, you can reject it before it causes problems. 

It also blocks business email compromise (BEC) scams, which occur when criminals impersonate business employees within a company. 

  1. It Increases Legitimate Email Delivery 

As DMARC checks the domains and IPs of every incoming and outgoing email, it ensures that only legitimate emails get delivered to your primary inbox. This prevents phishing, spoofing, and compromise scams. 

The Bottom Line

Hackers are always looking for ways to get into your systems and domains. But DMARC can derail their efforts, saving your business time and money. 

It prevents your company’s email from being used for phishing, scareware, and other social engineering attacks, makes phishing attacks visible, mitigates the impact of malware and phishing attacks, and protects you from BEC scams.

So, ensure your company’s safety and maintain your customers’ trust by getting a DMARC protocol coded into your domain today. 

DMARC

DMARC: A Simple Solution to Avoid Spam

Admin

Are you wondering how DMARC is a simple solution to avoid spam? Here is a thorough explanation of what DMARC is, how it helps to prevent spam, and why your business requires it for security.

What is DMARC?

DMARC stands for Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance Solutions, which is used to make email communication safer. DMARC is designed to safeguard the email domain from hackers who use it for many purposes, including email spoofing or phishing scams. 

It continuously monitors the domain’s outgoing email, and the receiving server uses the DMARC data to confirm whether the email is originating from a reliable source or not. DMARC is an email policy layer that ensures that emails fulfill two standards: 

  • DomainKeys identified mail (DKIM)
  • Sender-Policy Framework (SPF)

These two standards ensure that Emails are not including phishing scams and that emails sent from your domain are DMARC-compliant. So, they are not flagged as risky email messages. 

Benefits of Using DMARC

There are several top-notch advantages of using DMARC on your email server. Many brands or even Government organizations are using DMARC for security which even allows: 

  • Gain visibility into the email channel to identify the legit and malicious usage of the domain
  • Make sure legit email is delivering while malicious email is not
  • Get notifications when modifications to the email infrastructure could affect the delivery of legal messages
  • Identify threat sources so that they are prepared to prevent attacks before they happen
  • Boost email reputation score and trust

Why Use DMARC for Email?

Email is included in a number of all network attacks, and without using DMARC, it is quite difficult to identify whether the email is fake or real. DMARC helps the domain owner secure and safeguard their domain from malicious use by fighting CEO fraud, spoofing, or phishing. 

Furthermore, there are more than 5 billion email accounts worldwide, and the email channel is the only one with a larger audience. It ensures that the hackers use this channel for illegal purposes. 

In this situation, compliance (DMARC) adds value. DMARC not only offers comprehensive visibility into email channels and also highlights the phishing scams. DMARC is powerful enough to prevent malware attacks and scams and protect against brand abuse. 

Conclusion

DMARC instructs the receiving servers to verify the authenticity of emails originating from an organization’s domain. Using DMARC, the company can fully understand its email channel and phishing attacks coming from its domain, which was previously only possible after the attacks. However, it plays a great role in securing a domain from malicious threats, which are possible via emails.

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The Importance of Having a DMARC Email Authentication

Nina

An important element of phishing defenses for any organization, large or small, is DMARC email authentication.

DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. Its main purpose is to mitigate phishing attacks that spoof an organization’s domain and get those emails delivered to inboxes.

Protect Your Business Brand

Email security is important for keeping your employees and customers safe from cybercriminals who might try to steal personal information. Take, for example, someone who sends an email on behalf of your company. It fails DMARC, which means you can take an authoritative action. DMARC is an added layer of email security that can help stop spam and phishing in their tracks, helping companies protect their brands and reputation.

With DMARC, organizations can create a record of authorized senders from their domain, helping to prevent misuse of a company’s brand in phishing attacks. When configured on top of existing SPF and DKIM records, it helps confirm whether one or both of the authentication checks have failed.

Benefits of Using DMARC

Here are 5 great reasons to start utilizing DMARC:

  • Increase deliverability rates and reduce bounce rates
  • Receive comprehensive reports of how email messages are authenticated
  • Identify spammers and prevent malicious emails from reaching inboxes
  • Reduce the chances of your company’s emails from getting flagged as spam
  • Gain better visibility and authority over your domains

Get Started with a Proper DMARC Configuration

Many organizations are striving towards making email security mandatory to prevent the loss of sensitive data and resources. Therefore, it’s important to take into consideration the benefits of DMARC and create a safer email experience.

Configuring your domain with the right email authentication protocols doesn’t have to be complicated. Tangent’s DMARC Director was designed to help you configure DMARC quickly and easily, so you can be on your way to protecting your domain, brand, and reputation. Schedule a demo today.

How DMARC Helps Prevent Email Spoofing and Phishing

Nina

When you think of spoofing or phishing emails, you probably associate them with an email attack. But what does this all mean, exactly, and how can your organization avoid them?

A Brief History

As early as the 1970s, spammers were able to get around email filters and eventually grew into a global cybersecurity issue in the 2000s.

To help combat this, email security protocols were introduced to help stop email spoofing and phishing. As a result, many spoofed emails get sent directly to spam or junk folders.

Spoofing and Phishing

If you’ve ever received an email from an unknown sender with a rather suspicious-looking link, chances are it was a phishing email. Phishing emails aim to extract sensitive, personal information. It can be easy to spot a phishing email if it’s from a sender you’re not familiar with, an unrecognizable company or domain, or you’ve noticed a misspelling.

Email spoofing, on the other hand, is used to trick recipients into thinking the email came from a trusted person or entity, such as your employer or bank. A recognizable sender email address is more likely to lead the recipient to click malicious links, open malware attachments, and even send sensitive data. Spoofed email sending addresses that were not sent from your organization can tarnish your brand’s reputation. So how can your organization prevent this?

Email Authentication Protocols

If your domain was being used in an email spoofing attack, would you even know? Organizations can protect their brand and domain by putting email authentication protocols in place.

DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are email authentication technologies that help improve your email deliverability and email security. Without these in place, your organization’s domain is vulnerable to email hackers who are able to send spoofed emails to your customers or employees using your domain.

DKIM, or DomainKeys Identified Mail, works by attaching an encrypted DKIM signature to the email, which is then verified by the receiver or receiving system. Implementing DKIM is a great way to protect your organization, employees, and customers from targeted email attacks

SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework and is another type of email authentication technology. Domain owners use SPF to specify the emails they send are coming from their verified list of email servers. An SPF record verifies the IP address of the sender and compares it to the domain owner.

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) is a relatively new email authentication policy and reporting policy compared to SPF and DKIM. DMARC works by building upon SPF and DKIM mechanisms to validate the sender of an email. With a DMARC record, senders indicate that their email messages are protected by SPF and/or DKIM. It also instructs the receiver of what to do in the event that SPF or DKIM do not pass, such as sending the email to a junk folder or rejecting the email entirely. Furthermore, DMARC allows the receiver to automatically report a pass and/or fail DMARC evaluation and other details to the email address owner.

Protect Your Brand Reputation

Together, these three protocols will help protect your organization from spoofed and phishing emails sent from your domain. To learn more about DMARC, or to get started with a DMARC Record Configuration, visit dmarc.tangent.com.

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