Imagine this. You send an email to your marketing list promoting your latest SaaS product. But instead of going to your customers, a hacker intercepts your email, which then uses your product to spam others. Now, not only are you losing customers, but your reputation is also taking a hit.
This might sound like a nightmare, but it’s a real possibility. Data breaches, phishing attacks, and other email-based threats are becoming more and more common. And unless you have a way to protect your email content, you’re at risk of becoming a victim.
Enter DMARC. DMARC security is a hot topic these days. But what is DMARC, and how does it protect your email content? We’ll be running through everything you need to know today.
Let’s get started.
What is DMARC?
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. It’s an email security protocol that helps protect organizations from email-based threats.
DMARC works by authenticating email senders and verifying that their messages are coming from the domain they claim to be coming from. If the DMARC check fails, the email is quarantined or rejected outright. This helps to protect organizations from phishing attacks, spoofing attacks, and other email-based threats.
Let’s say you’ve just been sent a waiver agreement template from your boss. You open the email, but something looks off. The sender’s address says it’s from your boss, but the email looks like it’s from a free email service. If DMARC were enabled, this email would fail the DMARC check and be quarantined or rejected outright. This helps to protect you from accidentally clicking on a malicious link or downloading a malicious attachment.
Why DMARC is important
This year, phishing reached a record high.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here are some important email phishing stats to keep in mind:
- Roughly 15 billion spam emails make their way across the internet everyday, which means that spam filters are “working overtime” and are liable to permit malicious phishing attack emails to slip through.
- In 2021, 83% of organizations reported experiencing phishing attacks. In 2022, an additional six billion attacks are expected to occur.
- 30% of phishing emails are opened. This increases the probability of an individual unintentionally clicking on a malicious link or downloading a compelling-looking document that’s laced with malware.
These stats show just how important DMARC is for protecting your organization from email-based threats. With DMARC in place, you can help to protect your organization from phishing attacks, spoofing attacks, and other email-based threats.
What are the benefits of DMARC security?
There are a few key benefits of DMARC security that make it an attractive option for organizations:
- DMARC helps to protect your brand reputation: When DMARC is properly configured, it can help to prevent your email content from being used in phishing attacks and other email-based threats. This helps to protect your reputation and brand image.
- DMARC can help you to avoid costly data breaches: DMARC can help to prevent your email content from being used in data breaches. This can help to save your organization money and resources in the long run.
- DMARC can help you improve your email deliverability: DMARC can help improve your email deliverability by ensuring that your messages come from a trusted source. This can help to improve your chances of getting your email delivered to the inbox.
- DMARC is an industry-standard protocol: DMARC is an industry-standard protocol that organizations of all sizes use. This can help to give you peace of mind knowing that your email content is protected.
What is a DMARC Record?
A DMARC record is a specially formatted DNS TXT record containing rules and information about a domain. DMARC records are used to inform email recipients whether a domain is DMARC-enabled or not. If a domain is DMARC-enabled, the DMARC record will contain a policy that defines how email messages from that domain should be handled.
DMARC records are made up of host names and tag-value pairs. The hostname is the DNS name of the DMARC record, for example, _dmarc.example.com. The tag-value pairs are used to specify the DMARC policy for a domain. For example, the tag-value pair “p=quarantine” would tell email recipients to quarantine email messages that fail DMARC authentication.
DMARC records are stored in the DNS database of an organization. This means that DMARC records can be accessed by anyone with access to the DNS database.
What Policies are available in DMARC?
There are three policies that are available in DMARC:
The “none” policy / “p=none”:
This policy tells email recipients to take no action if an email fails DMARC security authentication. This policy is typically used when a domain is first configuring DMARC.
This policy can gather DMARC reports and analyze the data in those reports. This can help you to understand your email channel and to identify any potential issues.
For example, let’s say you’ve just added DMARC to your domain. You’re not sure how DMARC will impact your email deliverability, so you start with the “none” policy. This policy will allow you to see how DMARC affects your email before taking any action.
The “quarantine” policy
This policy tells email recipients to place email messages that fail DMARC authentication into a quarantine folder. This helps to protect users from accidentally clicking on a malicious link or downloading a malicious attachment.
You’ve been sent an email with a HelloSign DocuSign link. The email has passed DMARC authentication, but the link is malicious. If you click on the link, you could end up downloading a virus or giving away your personal information.
When DMARC is configured with the “quarantine” policy, email recipients will be warned about the malicious link and will be able to choose whether or not to click on it.
The “reject” policy
This policy tells email recipients to reject email messages that fail DMARC authentication. This helps to protect users from accidentally clicking on a malicious link or downloading a malicious attachment.
Rejected email messages are typically returned to the sender with a message explaining why the email was rejected.
For example, suppose you’ve been sent an email from your bank. The email looks legitimate, but it’s a phishing email. If DMARC is configured with the “reject” policy, the email will be rejected, and you will not be able to see the phishing email.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. DMARC is a powerful tool that can help to protect your email content. If your business is not using DMARC, now is the time to start. DMARC is easy to configure and is a great way to improve your email security.
If you’re unsure where to start, we recommend using the “none” policy. This policy will allow you to gather DMARC reports and analyze the data in those reports. This can help you understand your email channel and identify potential issues.
Good luck!
##
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yauhen Zaremba – Director of Demand Generation
Yauhen is the Director of Demand Generation at PandaDoc, all-in-one document management tool for almost all types of document including this PandaDoc joint venture agreement template. He’s been a marketer for 10+ years, and for the last five years, he’s been entirely focused on the electronic signature, proposal, and document management markets. Yauhen has experience speaking at niche conferences where he enjoys sharing his expertise with other curious marketers. And in his spare time, he is an avid fisherman and takes nearly 20 fishing trips every year.
