In the world of email marketing, to escape spam filters, you need to verify that: You are a genuine sender, you are not impersonating others, and your identity is not being taken advantage of; How to prove this? Then, we need to depend on 3 email authentication standards: SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
What are SPF, DKIM and DMARC? These protocols assist in showing to ISPs and Email Servers that:
- The sender is truly permitted to use a certain domain (domain) to send the email.
- As a method of confirming which Mail Server is sending email via your domain. This helps prevent spoofing, utilizing your domain address to transmit.
Distinguish the concepts of SPF, DKIM and DMARC; Understanding how they work and complement each other will help improve the email deliverability of mass marketing campaigns. Let’s explore these basic terms in this blog post.
Basic Understanding Of SPF
What is SPF?
Sender Policy Framework ( abbreviated SPF ). This notion stems from spam prevention tactics. This is a means of verifying the sender’s address (sending email address).
Specifically, the SPF standard complements SMTP, the underlying email delivery technology. Because SMTP itself does not offer any authentication method. SMTP enables any machine to transmit email from any source. For example, bulk email providers Amazon SES, Sendgrid, Elastic email, Mailchimp…etc.
SPF allows Email Server to determine whether the sender’s address is legitimate or false. From there, it is possible to prohibit spam and phishing sources on the network.
Learn more:
Example of an SPF record
If you have domain admin permissions, you will post a policy. It defines the allowed server IPs to use their domain name to deliver email. This policy is an SPF record and is added to the domain’s DNS.
In the preceding example, the SPF record indicates the approved list to use your domain name to send mail, including:
The mechanism of action of SPF
In the article, we will use the following naming:
- : Destination server, receiving Server, receiving Mail Server.
- is in the FROM field. It is accessible to all receivers.
- : This is technical data concealed in the FROM field of each outgoing email and defined by the sending Server. It lets the Destination Email Server know where to return the message or Bounce the message. It is also possible to know which Server to transmit to, which program to construct the news, etc. As the example below is the return route of Amazon SES.
The Receiving Server does SPF validation:
When the message arrives, the recipient server gets the Return-Path domain to get data back to the sender server. Next, it proceeds to extract the sender’s domain in the FROM field. For example, the domain of the sender is financebode.com. The receiving mail server will examine the DNS records of the financebode.com domain for the SPF record. The record comprises a list of IP addresses and servers allowed to send Emails on behalf of the domain financebode.com.
After the comparison is complete, the Receiving Email Server will offer the following results:
- If the source server’s IP address is listed in the SPF record, the verification test result is “Pass”. The sender is regarded as authentic since their mailing server is an approved service.
- The IP address of the transmitting Server does not show in the SPF record, and the SPF verification test result is “Fail”; The sender was detected as illegitimate since their mail server was invalid.
Importance of SPF
If you hold a domain with a strong sending reputation, spammers may try to send emails from your domain in an effort to take advantage of your reputation with ISPs. Properly set up SPF authentication informs ISPs: Although the sender address utilizes your domain name, the transmitting Server is not approved. Therefore, the email will not reach the user’s Inbox.
Publishing and validating SPF data is regarded as one of the most accessible and reliable anti-spam strategies.
After learning what SPF is. Next, we will learn about DKIM knowledge.
Basic Concept Of DKIM
What is DKIM?
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail, an email authentication technology that enables receivers to verify whether an email was truly sent and approved by that domain owner.
This is done by presenting the email with a digital signature. The DKIM signature is a header appended to the message and secured with encryption. After the receiver (or receiving system) establishes that the email is signed with a valid DKIM signature, make sure that the portions of the email where the message body and attachments have not been changed. Normally, the DKIM signature is not visible to the end user. Validation is done at the server level.
The function of DKIM
DKIM demonstrates 3 things:
1. The content of the email has not been tampered with.
2. The headers in the email have stayed the same from the time it was sent, and there are no new sending domains.
3. The sender of the email owns the DKIM domain or is permitted by that domain owner.
Explained DKIM means to ‘sign’ emails with a digitally encrypted signature. This signature is buried in the header of the email. If the information obtained from the unencrypted header matches the information in the decrypted signature, it knows the header has not been tampered with during transmission and receipt.
How DKIM Works
DKIM is mainly a way for authentication, not a method for anti-Spam. Since DKIM provides the function of avoiding forged, phishing or malicious mail, therefore people typically trust that DKIM is legitimate to combat Spam.
DKIM operates in 2 independent sections including:
In particular, one of them may be handled by a mail transfer agent (MTA) module. In addition, depending on various Mail server platforms, there will be varying instructions on installing DKIM, generally via the following steps:
For the sender:
- First, build a private/public key pair when the OpenSSL program supports it.
- Then, transmit the Public key to declare the TXT record on DNS, matching the domain delivering the email.
- Next, set the Mail server to utilize the Private key to sign the email before delivering it (Note: This key is only held on the Mail server. Thus, it cannot be a phony key).
For the receiving party:
- When receiving an email from the sender, verify the email with an encrypted message due to the DKIM setup.
- Next, Query DNS to retrieve the Public key of the Sender Domain and then decrypt. If the decryption is right, then validate the sending source and the email is assured. If the decryption is inaccurate, you may reject it or still accept it. Email relies on the recipient’s policy.
Reasons to Use DKIM
DKIM should be used since a message delivered without a DKIM signature may frequently be misunderstood as Spam. Hence reasons to use DKIM include the following:
Basic Concept Of DMARC
What is DMARC?
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is a mechanism that employs the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) to assess the validity of an email message.
DMARC assists Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in avoiding damaging email activities. For example, spoofing domains to illegally gain receivers’ personal information.
It lets email senders decide how to handle emails of unknown origin using SPF or DKIM. The sender might opt to send such emails to the garbage bin or block them entirely. By doing so, ISPs can better detect spammers.
It also stops fraudulent messages from accessing your Inbox. In addition, DMARC significantly decreases fraudulent authentications and delivers more transparent validation reports in the marketplace.
DMARC records are published alongside DNS records, including:
- SPF
- A-record
- CNAME
- (DKIM)
- PTR Record (additional details here )
How Does DMARC Work?
DMARC goes a step further than DKIM and SPF when it gives us the power to set a policy to reject (reject) or quarantine (quarantine – usually putting this mail in the SPAM folder) an email from an unknown source. Obvious or unreliable based on the results of DKIM and SPF.
DMARC allows you to tell the mail servers on the receiving side what to do when SPF or DKIM fails or isn’t available. Below is a description of how SPF and DKIM work together with DMARC.
The DMARC policy is set up in DNS and looks like this: _dmarc.domain.com TXT v=DMARC1\; p=reject\; pct=100\; rua=mailto: dmarc-reports@domain.com \;
The above record creates a policy to reject (p=reject) 100% (pct=100) emails that don’t pass DKIM or SPF. In addition, the record also shows the reason for the refusal will be sent to the mail (rua=mailto: dmarc-reports@domain.com ) for the domain.com administrator to know.
Why Use DMARC?
Using business email every day, have you ever worried whether your email is secure? Is somebody “snooping” on my information? Hackers and technology criminals may target everyone: from people to businesses, corporations, organizations or even the government and the State, with many different intentions (stealing information, jamming information).
Surely we have all heard about the controversy of spy Edward Snowden in 2013, a series of released confidential material. This indicates that the US, UK and other governments are surreptitiously installing hardware and software to monitor people’s Internet activity.
And when the event occurred, everybody anxiously wondered whether their information was taken. They were being monitored like a “thief”. Several technological methods have been established and extensively implemented to overcome this unfavorable scenario and strengthen the security of email in general. Among them, DMARC plays a crucial role.
As indicated above, hackers target our mail to steal personal information such as an address, phone number, bank password or credit card; grab the password and, log into our account, use it to trade and exchange without our awareness. But don’t worry too much, since DMARC will help us better safeguard our information, minimize email fraud, and we won’t have to get Spam every day.
Why Should Organizations Use DMARC, SPF And DKIM?
I hope I have helped you comprehend the fundamental ideas of what SPF is, what DKIM is, what DMARC is, along with their significance in email security.
Email is so widespread that it has become a key intermediate for cyber threats. For every 10 malware attacks, 9 happen over email.
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protect your business’s domain from being exploited for fraud and fraud. It may even harm your staff, customers and partners.
In addition, employing these three email security rules helps guarantee your email is trustworthy. Increase domain exposure and increase email deliverability for marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Email authentication is an important component of email security that may aid in the prevention of Spam, fraud, and phishing attempts. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are three important email authentication protocols that operate in tandem to give a complete email authentication solution.
By employing these protocols, you may enhance email deliverability, lower the danger of fraud and phishing attempts, and boost the trust and authenticity of your email communications. If you haven’t already, start utilizing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your emails and guarantee they are sent safely and securely.
Frequently Asked Questions On SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
Should I use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for my emails?
While email authentication is not required, it is strongly advised for anybody looking to increase email delivery and lower the risk of fraud and phishing attempts.
How do I set up my emails for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC?
Adding DNS records to your domain’s DNS settings is required to enable SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. The method may differ depending on your email service provider and the kind of DNS records needed. It’s a good idea to get advice from your email service provider or IT team on how to set up these authentication mechanisms.
Can SPF, DKIM, and DMARC prevent all types of email fraud?
While SPF, DKIM, and DMARC cannot prevent all kinds of email fraud, they may dramatically lower the risk of Spam, phishing, and other fraudulent communications.
What should I do if SPF, DKIM, or DMARC authentication fails on my emails?
If your emails fail SPF, DKIM, or DMARC authentication, check your DNS records and email settings to verify they are appropriately configured. You should also seek help from your email service provider or IT team to resolve any authentication difficulties.
