Many people do not understand what DMARC is or the way it prevents domain spoofing, impersonation, and fraud. This may also cause major misunderstandings concerning DMARC, how email authentication works, and why it is useful to you. But how do you know what is right and wrong? And how can you already know if you’re doing it correctly?
EmailAuth is here to help! To assist you in better understanding DMARC, we’ve produced a list of the topmost DMARC myths.
DMARC Filters Spam
This is one of the most common misconceptions about DMARC. Spam filters prevent incoming emails from reaching your inbox. These can be malicious emails from any domain, not just yours. Rather, DMARC instructs the recipients’ email servers on how to handle outgoing emails from your domain. Spam filters like Microsoft Office 365 ATP are ineffective against such intruders. If your domain uses DMARC Record and email authentication fails, the receiving server will reject it.
DMARC Ensures Lifetime Security
DMARC is one of the strongest email authentication methods available, although it’s not standalone. You should regularly review your DMARC reports to ensure emails from approved sources are not being rejected. More importantly, monitor your domain for illegal senders. If you see an IP address repeatedly trying to spoof your email, you should block or remove it quickly.
DMARC Cuts Down Email Deliverability
When configuring DMARC, you must first set its policy to p=none. That means all your emails will still be delivered, but you’ll get DMARC reports stating whether or not they passed authentication. If you see that your own emails do not pass DMARC during this monitoring period, you can take corrective action. Once all of your approved emails have been successfully authenticated, you can implement DMARC with a p=quarantine or p=reject policy.
DMARC Enforcement Is Optional
If you enable DMARC without enforcing it (policy p=none), all emails will be sent from your domain, even those that fail DMARC. You get DMARC reports but can’t defend your domain against phishing attempts. After the initial monitoring period (described above) you should set your policy to p=quarantine or p=reject and enforce DMARC.
DMARC Is Irrelevant to my Small Business
Many smaller companies assume that DMARC security is only required for the largest and most well-known brands. In reality, cybercriminals launch a phishing attack from every part of the company. These companies lack dedicated cybersecurity teams, making it easier for attackers to target small and medium-sized businesses. Remember that every organization with a domain name needs DMARC protection!
DMARC Reports Are Simple
Many companies use DMARC and receive reports in their own email inboxes. The problem is that DMARC reports come in an XML file format, which can be difficult to understand if you’re not familiar with it. A dedicated DMARC platform like EmailAuth not only simplifies the setup process, but also helps transform your complicated XML files into easy-to-read reports with detailed graphs, charts, and statistics.
So there you have it, a complete debunking of all the DMARC myths and stories. But don’t just take our word for it; why not try EmailAuth for yourself?
