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  • What Microsoft’s DMARC Enforcement Means for Your Email Deliverability

    What Microsoft’s DMARC Enforcement Means for Your Email Deliverability

    What Microsoft’s DMARC Enforcement Means for Your Email Deliverability

    As of May 5, 2025, Microsoft has started enforcing strict email authentication rules for domains that send more than 5,000 messages per day to its consumer email services, including Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, and Live.com.

    If your emails are not properly authenticated using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, they are now being diverted to junk folders or rejected entirely. This is not a policy you can opt out of. It is now part of how Microsoft handles email at the infrastructure level.
    For organisations that have not kept pace with modern email authentication, this change has already started affecting deliverability, brand trust, and visibility.

    If you are still catching up, DMARCS is built to make that process faster, easier, and more reliable.

    What Microsoft Now Requires

    Microsoft is enforcing three authentication checks, all of which must align with the visible “From” domain. These are verified at the DNS level.

    SPF – Sender Policy Framework

    SPF specifies which IP addresses or mail servers are authorised to send email on behalf of your domain.
     Purpose: Prevents unauthorised parties from spoofing your domain.
     Example DNS record:
     v=spf1 ip4:192.0.2.1 include:_spf.example.com -all

    DKIM – DomainKeys Identified Mail

    DKIM uses cryptographic signatures to confirm that the message has not been tampered with and was sent by an authorised server.
     Purpose: Protects message integrity and authenticates the sender.
     Example DNS record:
     selector._domainkey.example.com IN TXT “v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA…”

    DMARC – Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance

    DMARC tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM fail. It also ensures the visible sender address aligns with the domain used for authentication.
     Purpose: Enables policy enforcement, blocks spoofing, and provides reporting.
     Minimum DNS entry:
     _dmarc.example.com IN TXT “v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:abuse@example.com”

    Who Has Been Affected Since May 5

    If your organisation sends over 5,000 emails daily to Microsoft consumer inboxes, you are in scope. This includes:

    • Marketing platforms and campaign tools
    • E-commerce websites sending order confirmations or updates
    • CRMs and customer engagement tools
    • Alerting systems, billing platforms, and notification services

    Even if you primarily send to business addresses, any overlap with Outlook.com or Hotmail.com users will impact your deliverability.

    What Happens If You Are Not Compliant

    Since the policy took effect:

    • Non-compliant email is being redirected to the Junk folder
    • In many cases, it is now being rejected at the gateway
    • The following error is commonly returned:
       550 5.7.515 Access denied, sending domain does not meet the required authentication level

    Unauthenticated domains are also more vulnerable to phishing and spoofing. Attackers can impersonate your brand, putting both your users and your reputation at risk.

    Why Microsoft Enforced This

    Phishing is still the most widely used method to breach organisations. Most of these attacks rely on forged sender identities.

    By enforcing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, Microsoft is following Google and Yahoo in making domain-level email authentication mandatory. This change:

    • Blocks forged messages before they reach inboxes
    • Protects users from fake links and malicious attachments
    • Improves inbox delivery for legitimate senders

    This is not about new features. It is about enforcing long-standing security standards that many senders have neglected.

    Why Microsoft Enforced This

    Phishing is still the most widely used method to breach organisations. Most of these attacks rely on forged sender identities.

    By enforcing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, Microsoft is following Google and Yahoo in making domain-level email authentication mandatory. This change:

    • Blocks forged messages before they reach inboxes
    • Protects users from fake links and malicious attachments
    • Improves inbox delivery for legitimate senders

    This is not about new features. It is about enforcing long-standing security standards that many senders have neglected.

    What You Should Do Now

    If you are not compliant yet, take the following steps:

    1. Implement SPF
       Publish a DNS record that lists all authorised sending sources.
    2. Enable DKIM
       Generate a key pair. Sign outbound messages with your private key and publish the public key in DNS.
    3. Set a DMARC Policy
       Start with a “none” policy to monitor your ecosystem. Gradually move to “quarantine” or “reject” once alignment is confirmed.

    DMARC works only when your domain’s SPF or DKIM is aligned with your visible sender address. Both are recommended for maximum protection.

    Why Use DMARCS

    Managing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC manually is time-consuming and error-prone, especially across multiple sending systems. DMARCS is designed to simplify the process.

    With DMARCS, you can:

    • Configure and flatten SPF records
    • Host BIMI records for visual identity
    • Monitor email traffic across all sources
    • Get unlimited DMARC reports and instant alerts
    • Track progress from “monitoring” to “full enforcement”

    Our platform is built for scale and visibility, giving you full control over your domain’s email security posture.

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  • DMARC Implementation for a Gulf-Based Financial Services Firm

    DMARC Implementation for a Gulf-Based Financial Services Firm

    DMARC Implementation for a Gulf-Based Financial Services Firm

    The Problem

    Clients were getting fake emails. Some looked like payment requests. Others mimicked internal notifications. A few nearly succeeded. One came close to redirecting funds from a key commercial client. The company’s name was being used to defraud customers, and there was no technical control in place to stop it.

    Internally, the team believed SPF and DKIM were enough. But records were broken, unused tools still had access, and dozens of third-party platforms were sending emails on behalf of the domain. No one had full visibility. No one owned the problem.

    The damage wasn’t theoretical. It was active. Clients were reporting incidents. Legal was involved. Support teams were flooded with queries. Sales was losing trust with high-value accounts.

    The Objective

    • Regain control over the company’s email infrastructure.
    • Eliminate all forms of domain misuse.
    • Protect operations without disrupting live mail systems.
    • Achieve full DMARC enforcement with precision and accountability.

    What We Found

    • Over 30 domains and subdomains in use
    • Nine separate tools sending transactional or marketing emails
    • Multiple SPF records that failed lookup limits
    • DKIM selectors reused across platforms and regions
    • No DMARC policy configured on any domain
    • No team assigned to email authentication

    Some platforms were still authenticating with long-expired keys. Others were using generic shared configurations across different customers. The company had no idea which tools were active, which were dormant, and which were being abused.

    Meanwhile, malicious senders were hitting inboxes using the company’s name with no resistance.

    The Fix

    Step 1: Visibility

    We implemented a p=none DMARC policy and routed reports to a centralized analytics platform. Within days, we saw the problem in numbers:

    • Over 1,800 spoofed emails per day
    • At least four unauthorized senders relaying mail from offshore IPs
    • One legitimate internal tool misconfigured and failing authentication silently

    Step 2: Triage and Repair

    We rebuilt SPF records from scratch and removed excess includes. DKIM keys were regenerated and aligned per sender. Tools that failed authentication were either fixed or disconnected. Shadow IT systems were blocked at the DNS level.

    We coordinated with every external vendor to validate sending domains, update configurations, and confirm compliance.

    Step 3: Controlled Enforcement

    After four weeks of monitoring and cleanup, we moved to p=quarantine. Spoofed messages were now diverted or flagged. Business email traffic remained stable. No delivery disruptions.

    After two more weeks of clean reporting, we enforced p=reject.

    Results

    • Spoofed emails dropped from 1,800 per day to under 10
    • Fraudulent messages that once reached customer inboxes were now blocked at the gateway
    • Internal teams reduced email-related support cases by more than half
    • Third-party vendors were brought under strict control, with documented accountability
    • IT security took formal ownership of email infrastructure for the first time

    The firm avoided a serious fraud incident. One client reported they would have followed a fake payment instruction had it not failed delivery under the new DMARC policy.

    What This Changed

    Email security was no longer buried under infrastructure tasks. It became part of risk management. For the first time, the company had provable control over its public-facing communications.

    This wasn’t just about stopping phishing. It was about restoring credibility, reducing legal exposure, and proving to clients that their trust wasn’t misplaced.

    Most organizations don’t act on email abuse until something breaks. This one nearly did. DMARC wasn’t a technical upgrade. It was a correction of ownership. Without it, anyone could impersonate the business. With it, that door was shut permanently.

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  • The Hidden Cost of Not Having DMARC in Place

    The Hidden Cost of Not Having DMARC in Place

    The Hidden Cost of Not Having DMARC in Place

    Most organizations deploy firewalls, antivirus, and endpoint controls. Yet they leave their email domains unprotected. Without DMARC enforcement, your domain can be spoofed by anyone, at any time, with no alert, no audit trail, and no consequence. Except to your reputation, your customers, and your bottom line.

    Attackers Don’t Need Access to Your Systems. Just Your Domain Name.

    DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) prevents attackers from sending emails that appear to come from your domain. Without it, your brand becomes a free resource for phishing campaigns, business email compromise (BEC), and invoice fraud.

    Spoofing does not require access to your infrastructure. It exploits trust in your domain name. When DMARC is missing or misconfigured, threat actors use it to deliver emails that look like they came from your CEO, finance team, or support desk. These messages bypass traditional email filters because they appear to come from a legitimate domain.

    The Financial Impact Isn’t Hypothetical

    BEC losses are well documented. According to the FBI IC3, global BEC-related fraud exceeded 50 billion dollars across reported cases. In nearly all of them, domain spoofing was the first step.

    One spoofed invoice to the wrong customer can result in six or seven figure losses. In regulated sectors like finance and healthcare, this also brings audit failures and compliance violations.

    When your domain is used to phish third parties, such as partners, suppliers, or the public, you may not face immediate legal action. But you will face brand erosion. Trust lost in email is hard to recover.

    Internal Risk Multiplies Without Visibility

    It is not just your customers at risk. Internal users are common targets. Executives receive spoofed emails impersonating board members. Finance teams get urgent wire requests. HR teams are tricked into sending sensitive employee data.

    Compliance Pressure Is Growing

    Data protection laws in the UAE (PDPL), Europe (GDPR), and elsewhere are increasingly clear. Organizations are expected to implement appropriate technical controls to protect communication channels. DMARC is now considered one of those basic controls.

    Insurance providers are also tightening their requirements. Cyber liability policies increasingly require evidence of email authentication. Inadequate DMARC posture can result in higher premiums or denied claims after an incident.

    Auditors and regulators will not accept ignorance. If your domain was used in a phishing attack and you had no DMARC enforcement or monitoring in place, the liability shifts.

    Missed Opportunities for Brand Protection

    Beyond security, DMARC protects your brand identity in the inbox. Major email providers use DMARC enforcement to determine whether your logo is displayed through BIMI, whether your emails are trusted, and whether they land in the inbox or the spam folder.
    Without enforcement, legitimate marketing and customer support emails are more likely to be flagged, delayed, or blocked. Your deliverability suffers, and so does customer experience.

    The Cost of Doing Nothing

    Organizations that delay DMARC often cite complexity, resource constraints, or fear of disrupting email flow. These are solvable problems. The longer you wait, the more exposed you are.

    Spoofing attacks rarely make headlines. But they quietly drain trust, money, and operational resources. The clean-up cost, both financial and reputational, is always higher than prevention.

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