Email Authentication: What it is and Why it Matters

Email authentication is a verification method that helps email servers determine the legitimacy of an email message to confirm that you, the sender, are who you say you are. This mechanism is used to prove that an email message isn’t forged, thereby blocking any fraudulent mail. 

Even though email is now a key communication channel for organizations, security was never a built-in feature. Hackers leverage these email security weaknesses through phishing, domain spoofing, or spam campaigns to steal sensitive data such as login credentials and other personally identifiable information. Email authentication is one of the most effective security measures to prevent bad actors from exploiting organizations’ email domains.

This article discusses how email authentication works, its methods and benefits, and Email Authentication as a Service.

How Does Email Authentication Work?

Here is a simple overview of how email authentication works: 

1. An organization or domain owner implements a policy that defines how email servers authenticate messages from their email-sending domains. 
2. The email sender configures the mail server to deploy and publish this policy.
3. When an email receiver gets a message from this sender, it verifies the message by comparing the details of the message to the rules set by the sender. 
4. Depending on the authentication results, the email provider delivers, flags, or rejects the message. 

For email authentication to work, the sender and receiver must collaborate. This is why email authentication protocols are essential, as they define the rules governing an organization’s email authentication.

What Are the Email Authentication Methods?

The main email authentication methods or protocols are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

SPF

SPF or Sender Policy Framework is an email authentication mechanism that allows you to specify the sending sources or IP addresses authorized to send messages on your domain’s behalf. These senders are listed in your SPF record, a TXT record in your DNS. Once published, email servers can verify whether a sender is authorized. If a receiver gets a message from a sender not listed in your DNS record, the message is considered malicious and, therefore, is rejected.

DKIM

DKIM, or DomainKeys Identified Mail, is another email authentication standard used alongside SPF to provide additional protection against attacks. DKIM allows you to include a digital signature in the email header of every message using a private cryptographic key to confirm the origin and authenticity of the message.

DKIM authentication is possible through cryptographic authentication using public and private keys, which must match to verify the identity of a domain.  A DKIM configuration needs at least 1024 bits to ensure adequate protection from hackers. Like SPF, you must publish your DKIM record (containing the public key) as a TXT record in your domain’s DNS. 

DMARC

DMARC, or Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance, is an email authentication protocol designed to add an extra layer of security to your email channel. DMARC leverages SPF and DKIM to verify whether a message is indeed legitimate.

DMARC also covers the shortfalls of SPF and DKIM by verifying that the return-path address and the DKIM signing address match the “from:” address the recipient sees. This email authentication standard also tells receiving servers what to do with messages that fail these authentication checks. 

Configuring and implementing DMARC correctly requires technical expertise. If done improperly, legitimate emails could be blocked and sent to the spam folder. Fortunately, EasyDMARC has made DMARC implementation seamless. You can use our DMARC Record Checker to determine if your DMARC policy is working or use our DMARC Record Generator to create one.

BIMI

BIMI, or Brand Indicators for Message Identification, is an innovative email standard that enables brands to display their logo beside their message. With BIMI, only authenticated emails can have a brand logo, so recipients know the message is legitimate. 

BIMI works alongside SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to confirm that a sender is who they claim to be. The first step to implementing BIMI is full DMARC compliance. As such, your mails need to pass SPF and DKIM alignment and authentication checks.

Who Needs Email Authentication?

Any organization using email can be a target of phishing attacks. Email authentication is vital for every business using a public domain. With SPF, DKIM, and DMARC deployment, you can validate your legitimate emails and prevent hackers from spoofing your domain or email address. BIMI further verifies your mails while increasing brand recognition and trust, which are vital aspects of marketing.

Three Benefits of an Authenticated Email

There are three primary benefits of DMARC-authenticated emails – fraud prevention, brand image protection, and enhanced email deliverability.

Fraud Prevention

Emails don’t have built-in security, so bad actors can leverage them to trick victims into releasing sensitive data that can be used for fraudulent activities. With DMARC implementation, you can confirm the authenticity of your messages to prevent email fraud. 

Brand Image Protection

Building a reliable reputation with your customers takes years. However, cyber actors can leverage this trust to lure your customers into a trap, damaging your reputation. When you implement DMARC, you can prevent hackers from exploiting your domain for email spoofing and spear phishing attacks. 

Enhanced Email Deliverability

Cybercriminals send non-stop malicious messages daily. Internet service providers (ISPs) filter out suspicious messages, which commonly lack email authentication. With DMARC, ISPs can validate the authenticity of your message from the get-go, so your messages avoid spam folders.

When your mails are authenticated, they’re usually sent directly to the receiver’s inbox. This can improve your click and open rates, thereby increasing conversions. With a better deliverability rate, your domain reputation improves, and your campaigns are more successful. Moreover, fraudulent messages that exploit your company’s name are automatically blocked.  

Email authentication is vital for any business that relies on email marketing and communication. Ignoring email authentication can cost you time and sales.

Email Authentication as a Service

Email Authentication as a Service offers businesses a streamlined solution to ensure their emails are properly authenticated and aligned with the latest security standards. This helps prevent cyberattacks while enhancing email deliverability and sender reputation.

With Email Authentication as a Service, you can offload the email authentication burden to EasyDMARC’s Managed Services team. Our DMARC engineers take you through your email authentication journey from start to finish, offering you the convenience of having a dedicated DMARC Engineer and a Customer Success Manager at your side whenever you need them. We offer support via video calls and 24/7 email correspondence and provide quarterly reviews of your domain security infrastructure.

We take care of repairing, establishing, and maintaining your SPF and DKIM records, ensuring proper email authentication. Step-by-step, we configure your DMARC policies to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, eventually reaching your goal of p=reject.

Our experts continuously monitor your DMARC reports, identify unauthorized senders, and help you take the necessary actions to maintain a secure email ecosystem.

This ensures that your email authentication mechanisms are up to date and aligned with industry best practices, offering you peace of mind and confidence in all your email communications.

Final Thoughts

Email authentication is essential for protecting organizations from email-based threats. By implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, businesses can ensure their emails are legitimate, safeguard their reputation, and improve email deliverability. Leveraging these protocols helps maintain customer trust and prevents bad actors from exploiting email vulnerabilities, making them a critical part of any email security strategy.

If you haven’t implemented DMARC, now’s the time to start. Feel free to reach out today!