CSA Cyber Essentials Mark Now Requires DMARC: A Complete Guide

CSA Cyber Essentials Mark Now Requires DMARC: A Complete Guide

Cybersecurity requirements are evolving rapidly, and a clear trend is that email security is no longer optional. Organisations can have strong passwords, secure devices, and up-to-date systems, yet still face serious risks if attackers misuse their email domain. This is exactly why the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore has made DMARC mandatory for the Cyber…

Scan Carefully First, Education Under Threat, AI Phishing Surge

Scan Carefully First, Education Under Threat, AI Phishing Surge

Last week was all about phishing attacks that targeted naive users left, right, and center. Research findings revolved around an upsurge in AI-backed phishing attacks, while experts have noticed phishing QR codes as an emerging threat in the cybersecurity landscape. Meanwhile, India has been experiencing 3,100 phishing attacks per week. The silver lining in the…

The History of Email: From ARPANET to Modern Secure Communication

The History of Email: From ARPANET to Modern Secure Communication

Email is one of the most transformative technologies in the history of digital communication. Although it may seem like a mundane tool you use every day to send messages, share files, or coordinate with teams, email’s evolution is a remarkable journey that spans decades of innovation, expansion, and adaptation. Today, more than 300 billion emails…

How does DKIM verification differ from SPF and DMARC in protecting email?

How does DKIM verification differ from SPF and DMARC in protecting email?

DKIM verification protects email by cryptographically validating that selected headers and the body were unaltered and bound to the domain in the d= tag, while SPF only checks whether the sending IP is authorized for the envelope domain and DMARC enforces policy by requiring domain alignment of a passing DKIM or SPF result with the…

What is the difference between a DKIM selector and a domain when checking DKIM?

What is the difference between a DKIM selector and a domain when checking DKIM?

The DKIM selector (s=) is the label that tells verifiers which specific public key to fetch at selector._domainkey.d=domain, while the DKIM domain (d=) names the signing domain that owns the key in DNS and is the value used for DMARC alignment—verification always looks up s= under d=, but only d= participates in alignment. Context and…

Email guidelines and requirements for e-commerce platforms

Email guidelines and requirements for e-commerce platforms

If you run an e-commerce business, email is not just a marketing channel. It is your order confirmation system, your password reset mechanism, your customer support line, and often your main revenue driver. Platforms such as WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, and PrestaShop rely heavily on transactional and marketing emails to operate smoothly. Now imagine those…

What are common issues revealed by DMARC aggregate reports and how should I prioritize them?

What are common issues revealed by DMARC aggregate reports and how should I prioritize them?

DMARC aggregate reports most commonly reveal SPF and DKIM authentication and alignment failures, unauthorized/forged senders, misconfigured internal or third‑party systems, and configuration pitfalls (SPF include limits, missing/rotated DKIM selectors, forwarding/mailing list artifacts, subdomain policy mismatches), and you should prioritize remediation in this order: 1) high‑volume spoofing that fails both SPF and DKIM, 2) legitimate business‑critical…

Improvements to Domain Scanner: Streamlining Your DMARC Journey

Improvements to Domain Scanner: Streamlining Your DMARC Journey

In today’s digital world, protecting your domain from spoofing, phishing, and misuse isn’t just a best practice — it’s essential. As email continues to be one of the primary channels for business communication, ensuring that your domain adheres to robust email authentication standards is crucial to maintaining deliverability, protecting brand reputation, and safeguarding your customers….

What are common signs that indicate my domain has no DMARC record published?

What are common signs that indicate my domain has no DMARC record published?

Common signs your domain has no DMARC record published include DNS queries for _dmarc.yourdomain returning NXDOMAIN or “no TXT answer,” missing or “DMARC not evaluated” entries in Authentication-Results headers, zero DMARC aggregate/forensic reports in your monitoring, no DMARC-related enforcement bounces or provider warnings, and consistent checks across all authoritative name servers and subdomains showing no…

Where should I publish my DMARC record in my domain’s DNS?

Where should I publish my DMARC record in my domain’s DNS?

Publish your DMARC record as a DNS TXT record at the host _dmarc.yourdomain (for example, _dmarc.example.com) in your authoritative DNS, and optionally at _dmarc.sub.yourdomain for subdomains you want to override—never at the bare apex without the _dmarc label and never as SPF/DKIM records. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) relies on a deterministic DNS…

What are common mistakes people make when setting up DKIM TXT records?

What are common mistakes people make when setting up DKIM TXT records?

The most common mistakes when setting up DKIM TXT records are syntax errors (quoting/semicolons/base64), selector/domain mismatches, incorrect key splitting or record type, weak or outdated keys and unsafe rotation, DNS propagation/TTL missteps, canonicalization/algorithm mismatches, and ignoring DMARC/SPF alignment requirements. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) uses a public key published in DNS to verify that a message’s…

How can I set up DMARC Analyzer Free for my domain to start receiving reports?

How can I set up DMARC Analyzer Free for my domain to start receiving reports?

To set up DMARCReport Free (DMARC Analyzer) and start receiving reports, publish a DMARC TXT record at _dmarc.yourdomain (for example.com → host: _dmarc.example.com, type: TXT, value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[your-unique-address]@agg.dmarcreport.example; ruf=mailto:[optional]@forensics.dmarcreport.example; fo=1; adkim=r; aspf=r; sp=none; ri=86400; pct=100), verify your domain in the DMARCReport dashboard, confirm SPF and DKIM are correctly aligned for your mail flows, and…

How to Detect Honey Trap Scams Online

How to Detect Honey Trap Scams Online

In today’s hyper-connected world, the internet has given billions of people an unprecedented ability to communicate, build relationships, and find companionship. While this transformation has many positive effects, it has also opened the door to new forms of scams and cybercriminal tactics — one of the most emotionally exploitative being the honey trap scam. At…

How can I start protecting my G Suite email from phishing with DMARC?

How can I start protecting my G Suite email from phishing with DMARC?

Start protecting your G Suite (Google Workspace) email from phishing by enabling DMARC in monitor mode (p=none), properly configuring SPF and DKIM, publishing a DMARC TXT record with aggregate/forensic reporting, and using DMARCReport to analyze alignment data and gradually move to quarantine/reject. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) lets you tell receiving mail servers…