DMARC enforcement and monitoring

The effectiveness of DMARC hinges on two of its core components— DMARC enforcement and DMARC monitoring. Without monitoring DMARC reports, you will not understand the relationship of your emails with different receiving mailboxes. You need to know if a malicious entity is trying to send emails from your domain or if any of the genuine emails sent by your employees are getting rejected. This way, you can fix the problem before it becomes an exploitable vulnerability for threat actors. 

This blog will delve into the roles of DMARC enforcement and monitoring, mentioning their benefits and highlighting why a strategic balance is essential for effective email security. By understanding these components, businesses can safeguard their email channels and build trust with their audiences.

What does monitoring tell you about your emails?

DMARC monitoring involves collecting and analyzing data about how emails sent from your domain are handled by recipient servers. It helps you figure out email authentication results, identify legitimate sources of email traffic, and detect unauthorized attempts to use your domain for phishing and spoofing.

To monitor DMARC reports, specify an email address in your DMARC record where you want to receive aggregate reports (rua=) and failure reports (ruf=). Aggregate reports provide XML summaries of email authentication results for all messages using your domain, while failure reports give detailed information about individual email authentication failures.

You can use the insights from these reports to make changes to the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Monitoring lets you know if you have missed enlisting a legitimate sending source or enlisted an obsolete IP address. Fixing the misconfigurations in email-sending systems protects your business name from getting involved in malpractices. 

Benefits of DMARC monitoring

• You gain visibility into knowing who is sending emails using your domain and how these emails perform in authentication checks.
• This practice aids early threat detection by allowing you to authorize the use of your domain, such as phishing and spoofing before they escalate and become difficult to mitigate.
• DMARC monitoring lets you identify and resolve configuration issues with your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
• You are enabled to address legitimate email sources that didn’t pass the DMARC check, which helps you improve your domain reputation and email delivery rate.
• DMARC monitoring provides the groundwork for transitioning to enforcement (p=quarantine or p=reject) without disrupting legitimate traffic.

How does DMARC enforcement prevent email-based attacks?

DMARC enforcement strengthens email security by blocking unauthorized emails using p=quarantine or p=reject.

The policy you set dictates how unauthenticated emails are handled. Quarantined emails go to spam or junk, while rejected emails are completely blocked. By enforcing these policies, businesses reduce email-based attacks and maintain trust by ensuring only legitimate emails reach recipients.

Benefits of DMARC enforcement

• When you apply the quarantine or reject policy, you actively prevent threat actors from exploiting your reputed domain to send phishing emails. 
• The email authentication systems become stronger as DMARC ensures proper alignment of SPF and DKIM. Emails that fail to meet alignment requirements are blocked, ensuring only authenticated emails are delivered.
• By having mechanisms in place that block unauthenticated emails, you build trust with email service providers. Your domain reputation is enhanced, which means most of your emails land in the primary inboxes of the intended recipients.

• Enforcement policies ensure that reports focus on actionable threats rather than just data collection.
• By reducing the number of phishing and spoofing attempts, DMARC enforcement minimizes the workload for IT teams handling security incidents and end-user support requests related to suspicious emails.
• Many regulatory frameworks and standards, such as GDPR and ISO 27001, emphasize the need for secure communication channels. DMARC enforcement demonstrates proactive measures to protect sensitive communications.

• DMARC complements zero-trust email security by ensuring that only authenticated emails are trusted. This aligns with broader cybersecurity strategies that aim to minimize risk through verification at every level.
• DMARC enforcement is a prerequisite for implementing Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI). With BIMI, organizations can display their verified logo to email clients, enhancing brand recognition and trust while benefiting from DMARC’s security measures.

Final words

DMARC monitoring and enforcement are key to securing email systems. Start with the p=none policy to gather data and understand email traffic. Gradually transition to p=reject for maximum protection, blocking unauthorized emails.

By implementing these policies, you can prevent phishing, secure legitimate communications, and protect your brand reputation. This strategic approach builds trust with clients and partners while enhancing email security.

We at DMARCReport help you parse the complicated XML reports while helping you understand what adjustments are required in the way you have configured your email authentication protocols. Reach out to us for more details and to get started!