Boosting Email Deliverability with DMARC, DKIM, and SPF

Have you ever sent an email, but the recipient never responded? Were you certain your email was received? In both corporate and personal settings emails are common methods of communication. Email deliverability is an important feature of digital communication that ensures emails reach their intended recipients' inboxes. High deliverability rates are critical for businesses to communicate successfully with their customers, partners, and stakeholders. However, achieving peak email deliverability can be difficult due to typical challenges including spam, spoofing, and phishing. These criminal behaviors not only hurt the sender's reputation but also lower the likelihood that legitimate emails will be delivered successfully.

Understanding Email Authentication Protocols

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

Definition and Purpose

SPF is an email authentication technique that detects and prevents email spoofing. It allows domain owners to choose which mail servers can send emails on their behalf.

How does SPF work?

When an email is sent, the receiving mail server checks the sender's domain's DNS for an SPF record. If the email is sent from a legitimate server, it will pass the SPF check. If not, it fails, and the receiving server may reject or flag the email as spam.

Importance of Having SPF Records

SPF helps to prevent unauthorized users from sending emails from your domain, lowering the risk of phishing and spoofing attacks. It is an important step in maintaining the integrity of your email exchanges. Having SPF Records is important for several reasons:

• Prevent Email Spoofing: By verifying the sender’s IP address, SPF helps prevent attackers from sending emails that appear to come from your domain.
• Improves Domain Reputation: Implementing SPF demonstrates to email services and blacklist sites that your domain is secure, which helps maintain a good domain reputation.
• Improves Email Deliverability: Emails from domains with properly configured SPF records are less likely to be marked as spam, improving overall deliverability.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

Definition and Purpose

DKIM is an email authentication method that enables the sender to associate a domain name with an email message by adding a digital signature. This signature is linked to the domain, confirming that the email was not altered during transit.

How does DKIM work?

DKIM adds a signature to the email header that is created with the sender's private key. To validate the signature, the receiving server utilizes the sender's public key as published in the DNS. If the signature is legitimate, it confirms that the email was sent from the domain and was not tampered with.

Benefits of Implementing DKIM

Implementing DKIM adds another degree of protection, confirming the validity of your emails. It promotes confidence among email recipients and ISPs, increasing the likelihood of effective email delivery. Here are some added benefits, very similar to that of SPF:

• Prevents Email Tampering: Ensures that the email content remains unchanged during transit.
• Enhances Email Deliverability: Emails with valid DKIM signatures are less likely to be marked as spam.
• Improves Domain Reputation: Inform email providers that your domain is secure and trustworthy.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

Definition and Purpose

DMARC is an email authentication technique that detects and prevents email spoofing through the use of SPF and DKIM. It allows domain owners to designate how unauthenticated emails should be treated and includes a reporting method for tracking email authentication.

How DMARC Integrates SPF and DKIM

DMARC analyzes both SPF and DKIM information to confirm that emails are valid. If an email passes SPF or DKIM and matches the domain in the "From" header, it passes DMARC. If not, DMARC directs the receiving server to treat the email in accordance with the domain owner's policy.

Setting Up DMARC Policies