What is GAPPSSMTP and How to Set Up a Custom DKIM Key For Your Emails?

What is GAPPSSMTP and How to Set Up a Custom DKIM Key For Your Emails?

GAPPSSMTP stands for Google Apps Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, which is responsible for exchanging email messages securely and swiftly. This is a part of Google Workspace’s suite of tools. Understanding GAPPSSMTP Every outgoing message that is sent through the Gmail SMTP server is signed with a default DKIM key to prevent email tampering and verify…

Detecting DMARC Issues Through Pentesting
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Detecting DMARC Issues Through Pentesting

Pen testing or penetration testing is defined as an authorized and strategized simulated cyberattack performed to explore the vulnerabilities of a technical system.  Sounds complicated? Here’s a simpler explanation- So, companies hire a penetration tester who breaks into their system just like a hacker would do. They try to take note of all the security…

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The Impact of Email Forwarding on SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

So you have your email authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, yet your DMARC report shows discrepancies in the alignment? Chances are that your emails were being passed through an intermediary mail server before they were delivered. This is a classic case of email forwarding.  But then why implement email forwarding if it can compromise…

DMARC History: Why SPF and DKIM Weren’t Sufficing

DMARC History: Why SPF and DKIM Weren’t Sufficing

DMARC is driven by the authentication results of SPF and DKIM to prevent fraudulent emails sent from your domain from showing up in the primary inboxes of victims. The protocol was developed to minimize the likelihood of someone falling into the trap and sharing sensitive details or sending money to hackers; so, if the recipient…

8 Misconceptions About DMARC and its Deployment for Businesses

Even Google and Yahoo have mandated the implementation of DMARC for companies sending over 5,000 emails per day. However, many companies are yet to take DMARC adoption seriously; unfortunately, the myths lurking around this topic put them into a dilemma, and hackers very well know how to take advantage of email-based security loopholes. But, as…

Why You Should Take DMARC Adoption Seriously?

The digital realm is replete with grave cyberattacks that can wreak havoc on an organization’s operations, efficiency, and integrity. Such perilous consequences demand comprehensive strategies that can cushion their impact and further prevent these attacks. This is where DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) comes in! As a critical email authentication protocol, DMARC plays…

The Emergence of DKIM: A Cryptography-Based Email Authentication Protocol

The Emergence of DKIM: A Cryptography-Based Email Authentication Protocol

Navigating through the complexities of email security and the limitations of SPF, the urgency to develop a protocol that doesn’t break on email forwarding was needed. This led to the genesis of DomainKeys Identified Mail or DKIM. Its roots date back to the early 2000s when email-based cybercrimes were escalating. This led to the initiation…

Google and Yahoo’s New Email Authentication Policy for 2024

The prevalence of email-based attacks has necessitated the implementation of robust strategic measures. To mitigate the impact of these attacks and safeguard their digital ecosystem, security teams have been encouraged to employ email authentication protocols. However, it was never a mandatory practice until very recently. On Oct 03, 2023, Google and Yahoo announced that from…

5 Common DMARC Challenges Experienced After its Deployment

Deploying DMARC seems like one of the crucial steps taken towards email deliverability and security. While the process of email authentication is pivotal in the journey of safeguarding your brand from impersonation, phishing, and spoofing, the biggest step is actually appointing an expert (or becoming an expert yourself) who can manage and monitor SPF, DKIM,…