Why is it optional to receive DMARC aggregate and forensic reports?
DMARC reports let you know two important things: whether legitimate emails sent from your domain are failing DMARC checks and whether someone is trying to send phishing emails using your domain. Such information is critical for the effectiveness of the deployed email authentication protocols; you get to know if your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations need any adjustments. But have you ever wondered why it’s optional to receive these reports? Well, here are the primary reasons.
Understanding the optional nature of DMARC aggregate and forensic reports
Receiving DMARC aggregate and forensic reports is optional because they are intended for monitoring and fine-tuning your email authentication policies rather than being critical to the enforcement of DMARC itself. Here is a detailed breakdown of the reasons.
1. DMARC policy enforcement works without relying on reports
DMARC’s main role is to enforce email authentication by using SPF and DKIM results. Its procedure works the same even if you choose not to receive the XML reports. Based on the policy you specified in the DMARC record (none, quarantine, or reject), the DMARC protocol takes the appropriate action against unauthorized emails sent from your domain.
2. Reports are for insight, not enforcement
There are two types of DMARC reports— aggregate and forensic. Aggregate reports help you with a summary of the authentication results of all the emails sent from your domain. On the other hand, forensic reports (also called failure reports) provide details on failed authentication attempts.
Both types of reports are meant for monitoring email traffic, identifying potential issues, and detecting abuse or misconfigurations. But the fact is that none of this is necessary for enforcing DMARC policy.
3. Privacy concerns
Forensic reports contain detailed information about individual email failures, which might include sensitive data (e.g., headers or message content). Some organizations opt out of receiving them to avoid handling potentially sensitive information.
4. Complexity of handling reports
Setting and managing DMARC reports is a resource-intensive task, especially if hundreds and thousands of emails are sent from your domain daily. Moreover, these reports are generated in XML format, which requires technical expertise, tools, and scripts to decode and visualize them.
Storing daily reports over time for historical analysis can consume significant storage resources. Companies that lack adequate human resources to parse, analyze, and store these reports have to depend on automated tools or third-party agencies, adding to overhead costs.
5. Lack of immediate value for simple setups
Organizations with straightforward email infrastructures, such as those using only a single email provider (e.g., Google Workspace or Microsoft 365), may find limited value in DMARC reports. If their SPF, DKIM, and DMARC settings are well-configured and there are no signs of abuse, they might prefer to skip reporting to avoid unnecessary overhead.
Why should you still consider opting for DMARC reports?
Regular decoding of DMARC reports and pattern-reading help domain owners identify if someone is trying to send potentially fraudulent emails to their employees, customers, or prospects. This further guides on how and when to gradually refine your DMARC policy for stricter enforcement.
We at DMARCReport understand how tedious it can get to handle so many XML reports daily. But our team has become adept at this task. So, why don’t you throw off your DMARC reports worries onto us? Talk to us to see if we are a good fit for your company’s domain.
