What is DMARC, SPF and DKIM, and Why Does Your Business Need It?
Malware is at an all-time high across the world.
Ransomware is on the rise! (We are sure that can be turned in to a song!).
Phishing is at an all-time high! (and we don’t mean Cod or Salmon!).
With over 94% of malware being delivered by email and 80% of all hacks are phishing related, you must get serious about your email security and overall cybersecurity.
Despite Cybersecurity being in the news daily, many companies think that it’s something that “only happens to others” until, of course, it gets round to them.
Don’t be one of those people that waits around to be hacked. In this blog, we cover some of the security you can implement to reduce phishing emails getting through to you in the first place.
What is SPF?
SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework and is an email authentication configuration that makes it harder for spammers to send out emails pretending to be from you.
Its simplest form it is a DNS record that states which IP Addresses can send emails on its behalf.
What is DKIM?
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail and is another email authentication configuration that provides validation that emails are from the correct domain owner. It is more powerful then SPF alone as DKIM adds an encrypted signature to the email, confirming that it is from you.
What is DMARC?
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance and is the final part of the three-prong approach for email security. DMARC uses the SPF and DKIM configuration to determine if the email message is legitimate and sent from the right source.
How does DMARC, SPF and DKIM work together?
Using all three elements for email security makes a significant impact reducing your cyber threat risk They compliment each other and together work as a formidable layer of threat protection.
SPF: This allows you to define “allowed” IP addresses that have the responsibility of sending email addresses for your domain
DKIM: This provides the encryption key and signature, which verifies that the email message is genuine and not tampered with.
DMARC: This is like the teacher of the classroom, and what it does is checks and tallies the SPF and DKIM and then addresses what to do if the email fails any authorisation.
What are the benefits of DMARC for my business?
Increased email security: DMARC will perform several validation steps to ensure that all emails on that domain originate from the authoritative servers. This means that spoofing and phishing emails will be challenging to get through.
Increase email control: You will have increased control over the sending and receiving of emails on your domain and also be able to control what happens if emails do not pass validation controls..
Increase reporting capability: Having the ability to report on all email activity on your domain is invaluable. Being able to check total emails, authenticated emails, who sent emails and who they are going to.
We hope the blog has helped shape your thoughts on how important DMARC is for your email security.
If you like the sound of the ‘hands-off’ experience and having your IT and Cybersecurity taken care of by highly trained professionals, we would love to hear from you. Call our friendly team of experts on 0345 314 2001 for a relaxed chat about how we can make all this happen for you. Our team is ready and waiting to help in any way they can.
You can also find us at www.teckgenius.co.uk, where you’ll discover our full range of services that help you leverage the power of technology whilst enjoying the cost-savings that it brings. Alternatively, please contact us here
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