What are the pros and cons of DMARC, and is it worth implementing for email authentication and reporting?

Email marketer from Twitter states that one of the main cons of DMARC is its complexity. It's not a set-it-and-forget-it solution; requires ongoing management and expertise to interpret reports and adjust policies effectively to prevent deliverability problems.

Marketer from Email Geeks states DMARC has a good chance of working out only for those in financial services or e-commerce, with sorted capex budget and C-level buy-in, who don't mind a 6-9 month project with on-going operational costs, and don't use mailing lists.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that one of the cons is that misconfigured DMARC can cause deliverability issues, leading to legitimate emails being rejected. Setting up and maintaining DMARC requires technical knowledge and constant monitoring to prevent errors.

Marketer from Email Geeks provides a list of problems with DMARC. They include: underestimation of time and expense, leading to neglected records and broken mail; DMARC reporting mode isn't as innocuous as believed, oversold benefits leading to adoption for wrong reasons; failure to stop phishing; BIMI creating incentives for aggressive DMARC policies whether appropriate or not.

Email marketer from GMass explains that DMARC policy enforcement should be done gradually to avoid issues. Start with p=none to monitor email traffic. Then move to p=quarantine. After that, if you're happy with your results, you can enforce p=reject, which will ensure non-compliant emails are rejected, but this should only be after careful monitoring and testing.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that the criteria for needing DMARC is that there is a significant financial, reputational or compliance risk associated with taking no actions to prevent a forged 5322.From using your corporate domain and can satisfy the "every appropriate measure / every appropriate control" type requirements issued by regulatory bodies.

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares DMARC is helpful mostly for the reporting and has helped discover semi legit mail streams, rogue senders, legit sources where authentication wasn’t working right, and flat out domain spoofing.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares DMARC offers increased deliverability, protection against phishing and spoofing, and improved brand reputation. Implementation helps ensure legitimate emails reach the inbox while preventing malicious actors from using your domain to send harmful emails.

Email marketer from EasyDMARC answers DMARC offers visibility into email channels, prevents domain spoofing, and improves email deliverability. Proper configuration allows you to see who is sending emails on behalf of your domain and block unauthorized sources. It helps to prevent phishing attacks and improve customer trust in your brand.

Email marketer from Proofpoint explains that DMARC implementation challenges include complexity in configuration, potential for blocking legitimate emails if not set up correctly, and the need for continuous monitoring and adjustment. It requires careful analysis of email traffic and alignment with SPF and DKIM records.

Marketer from Email Geeks says there's nothing wrong with using DMARC reports to understand what's sending email using the 5322.From along with the SPF/DKIM alignment but understand you only get reports from DMARC aware mailbox providers. The deployment and operation piece is where many feel there is a large chasm between the claimed benefits of DMARC and reality, and the significant effort and cost associated with using DMARC in a production environment is poorly understood.

Email marketer from StackExchange answers DMARC only protects the domain used in the 'From' address, not the entire email. It also does not protect against 'cousin domains' or lookalike domains used in phishing attacks. DMARC is only part of a comprehensive security strategy.

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that DMARC improves email deliverability and protects brand reputation. It also creates more transparency over who is sending email on behalf of the company and can protect against phishing and spoofing attacks. It is crucial for businesses that rely on email communication.

Email marketer from SparkPost shares that reporting is one of DMARC's most valuable benefits. DMARC reporting offers insights into email authentication status, allowing you to identify and address issues. This assists in identifying legitimate sources of email and spotting potential abuse or spoofing activities.

Expert from Email Geeks states that the only thing DMARC protects is the 2822.From and most mail clients don't display the 2822.From. Claims DMARC is NOT FREAKING AUTHENTICATION. Also DMARC p=none is awesome but doesn't actually give you much more data than you can get from SPF.

Expert from Email Geeks shares her standard recommendation: 'Don’t use DMARC.'

Expert from Word to the Wise explains why you should not publish a DMARC policy statement, because it is like putting a sign in your yard saying 'I have an alarm system'

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that DMARC doesn't fix phishing, because it only protects you from direct domain spoofing. Phishers are able to go around the DMARC security and the consumer can't tell a phish from a legitimate email.

Expert from Email Geeks explains the real value of DMARC is in the reporting, which allows companies to see mail streams and authentication. There's some value for heavily phished domains, but most phishing uses cousin domains, which DMARC doesn't address.

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC empowers email domain owners to protect their domain from unauthorized use, commonly known as email spoofing. By implementing DMARC, domain owners can instruct recipient mail servers on how to handle messages that fail authentication checks, and request reports on authentication results.

Documentation from Microsoft explains that Exchange Online uses DMARC to examine the From address to detect spoofing. If a domain passes SPF or DKIM and DMARC is enabled, Microsoft validates email and allows the message into the inbox. If the domain fails DMARC, the action depends on how the policy is set (reject, quarantine, none).

Documentation from Google explains that DMARC helps email senders and receivers work together to better protect senders and receivers from spam, phishing, and other email abuse. DMARC builds on the existing SPF and DKIM protocols, adding a reporting function that allows senders and receivers to improve and monitor protection of the domain from abusive email.