While the business community heavily relies on email, cyberattackers may depend on it even more. It’s often their primary entry point for exploiting companies in various nefarious ways. Most people have either received an email they immediately recognized as fake or heard about someone getting a scam email that appeared to come from “them.”
If you’ve ever wondered why email scams are so common, it’s because many businesses overlook a simple yet effective part of the strategy for preventing them. It’s called DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) and it’s a crucial email authentication tool that helps ensure only authorized emails can be sent from your business's domain. However, according to Valimail, as of September 2024, only about 20 percent of the top 10 million domains have implemented DMARC records.
This indicates that a significant number of organizations remain vulnerable to email-based attacks.
The Risks: Incoming and Outgoing
Needless to say, no business wants to run the risk of cyberattackers penetrating their enterprises and inserting ransomware or other malicious software. But there are also other risks to consider.
Email is a cornerstone of many companies' marketing strategies. However, without DMARC properly set up, your email domain could be flagged as spam by recipients' email servers. This means that the thousands of marketing messages your company sends may never even reach your audience, landing in spam folders instead.
Even if you dodge a ransomware attack, have you considered the hidden cost of lost time and missed opportunities when your emails never reach their intended recipients – and you don’t even know it?
Getting DMARC Right: Protecting Your Business the Smart Way
If DMARC sounds like a no-brainer for any business to prioritize, that’s because it is. Yet many companies don’t even realize DMARC exists, and those who do often fail to implement it correctly. The result? They remain vulnerable to phishing emails and other cyberattacks that threaten their data, finances, customer relationships and reputation.
The good news is that none of this needs to happen. DMARC is relatively straightforward to set up, and while expert help can ensure everything is configured correctly, it’s a small investment for significant protection.
How DMARC Works
DMARC utilizes two frameworks – SPF and DKIM – to validate senders and add digital signatures recipients can check. It also allows companies to establish domain settings to quarantine and reject fake emails, and to monitor attempts to exploit their domains fraudulently.
But you have to do it right, and that’s where many companies get in trouble.
Four Critical Impacts
When DMARC is implemented correctly, the benefits are impactful. Here’s what it can do for your business:
· Stop Cybercriminals in Their Tracks: Put an end to cybercriminals impersonating your domain to send phishing attacks and other fraudulent emails. This will protect your customers, partners, employees, data and finances – as well as your reputation. DMARC also safeguards against one of the biggest cyber threats today: Business Email Compromise (BEC).
· Boost Email Deliverability: Because email providers are more likely to trust emails that come from your domain, you don’t want your well-intended emails ending up in recipients’ spam folders. That can happen when you don’t use DMARC.
· Identify and Address Vulnerabilities: DMARC’s monitoring capabilities provide insights into suspicious activity, allowing you to fix issues before they can be exploited.
· Build Trust with Your Customers: Few things damage trust faster than your domain being used in a scam. With DMARC in place as part of a broader strategy, you can protect your customers and enhance their confidence in your business.
The Pitfalls of Poor DMARC Implementation
Even a small mistake can undermine your entire system. That’s why consulting an expert is a smart move to ensure every detail is properly configured.
While DMARC is powerful, it’s only effective if set up properly. One of the most common mistakes is leaving the DMARC record in “allow” mode, rather than moving it to stricter policies like “quarantine” or “reject.” Without this critical step, your DMARC implementation is essentially useless — it’s no better than not having a DMARC record at all.
Another missed opportunity is failing to use the activity reports DMARC provides. These reports offer valuable insights into who is attempting to misuse your domain and can help you address vulnerabilities proactively.
The Bottom Line
Don’t let email spoofing sabotage your business operations or marketing efforts. Stay tuned for our next piece, where we’ll dive into how to implement DMARC as part of the strategy to protect your domain.
Ready to take the first step? Let’s connect at dacarey@cybersynergies.io
Dave Carey is CEO of CyberSynergies, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based cybersecurity company helping clients clean up and eliminate vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and online fraud.
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