Phishing is still a big problem for businesses. Cybercriminals often forge the sender address of emails to pose as a trustworthy organization.
Phishing is a way in which cybercriminals try to get personal information from people. This is done through a message that pretends to come from a trusted organization. People often give their details through a fake website, which the criminals then take advantage of. Forms of phishing that are well known are CEO fraud and corona phishing. Phishing can take place in a variety of ways, including through WhatsApp, social media and text messaging, but e-mail phishing is the most common. With the old SMTP protocol, it is easy to forge the sender address, which people often do not notice. DKIM, DMARC and SPF are effective ways to counter phishing because they verify the identity of the sender before the e-mail is delivered.
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) are three email authentication methods that can help protect against phishing and other types of spam. Here is a brief overview of each method:
DKIM
DKIM: DKIM allows the recipient of an e-mail to verify that it was actually sent by the domain from which it claims to be sent, and that it has not been altered in transit. It works by adding a digital signature to e-mail headers. When the e-mail is received, the receiving server can use the signature to verify the identity of the sender and ensure that the e-mail has not been altered in transit.
Click here for more information regarding DKIM.
SPF
SPF: SPF is a method of verifying the authenticity of the sender of an e-mail message. It works by publishing a list of IP addresses authorized to send e-mail on behalf of a domain. When an e-mail is received, the receiving server can check the SPF record for the domain of the sender’s e-mail address and see if the server that sent the e-mail is on the list of authorized IPs. If the server is not on the list, the e-mail may be marked as spam or rejected altogether.
Click here for more information about SPF
DMARC
DMARC: DMARC is a security protocol that allows a domain owner to publish a policy in its DNS records specifying which mechanisms (e.g., SPF, DKIM) are used to authenticate e-mail messages sent from its domain. It also allows the domain owner to establish policies for how receiving mail servers should handle messages that fail authentication. For example, the policy may require that such messages be rejected or quarantined.
Click here for more information about DMARC
Using these email verification methods can help protect against phishing and other types of spam, but it is important to note that they are not a complete solution. Hackers and spammers can still find ways around these measures, so it is important to use other security measures as well, such as antivirus software and checking for suspicious links. It is also possible that some legitimate emails may be mistakenly marked as spam if the authentication methods are not properly configured.
Use Mail-Tester to check the delivery of your emails and improve your spam score
Mail-Tester is a website that can be used to check email delivery. As a user, you send a message from your favorite newsletter/email software to a randomly generated email address that you get every time you access the site. When you click the “Check your score” button, Mail-Tester will analyze the message, as well as your mail server, your sending IP, and so on. After this, the site will provide a detailed report of what is configured correctly and what is not.
The result of the test will be available for 7 days with the free version of the site, or 30 days if you created an account and used your own prefix. If you send a new message to the same test address, your previous test will be immediately deleted and replaced with the new one.
Mail-Tester can be used to test and improve email delivery by detecting problems that may cause messages to be improperly delivered or flagged as spam. That way, you can ensure that your messages are effectively delivered to recipients.
