Why are ESPs enforcing DMARC policies and what are the implications?

Summary

ESPs are enforcing DMARC policies to protect their sending infrastructure, improve deliverability, enhance security, and safeguard brand reputation. DMARC helps prevent phishing and spoofing attacks by allowing domain owners to specify how email recipients should handle unauthenticated messages, offering control over actions like quarantine or reject. Key implications include the need for senders to properly configure SPF and DKIM, potentially leading to legitimate emails being blocked if not done correctly. While DMARC enhances security and promotes trustworthy email communication, challenges include complex setup, the risk of misconfiguration, and the necessity for continuous monitoring and expert configuration. A default of reject without reporting can be seen as reckless. Enforcing DMARC on subdomains won't help with BIMI enforcement.

Key findings

  • Infrastructure Protection: DMARC enforcement protects ESPs' sending infrastructure from damage caused by spoofing and phishing attacks.
  • Improved Deliverability: A strong DMARC policy and enforcement improves email deliverability by signaling trustworthiness to mailbox providers.
  • Brand Protection: DMARC enforcement helps maintain customer trust and prevents brand association with spam or phishing.
  • Security Enhancement: DMARC helps prevent spoofing and phishing attacks and protects the recipient's security
  • Compliance Requirement: Enforcing DMARC is becoming a standard and a compliance requirement for organizations that are handling sensitive data.

Key considerations

  • Configuration Complexity: Setting up and configuring DMARC can be complex, requiring expertise in SPF and DKIM; smaller organisations can find this a barrier.
  • Potential for Misconfiguration: Incorrect DMARC settings can lead to legitimate emails being blocked.
  • Ongoing Monitoring: Continuous monitoring and analysis of DMARC reports are necessary to identify and address authentication issues.
  • Client awareness: Doing this without client knowledge can lead to frustration, especially with multiple platforms using the same subdomain.
  • Reporting: Default rejection without reporting is not recommended.
  • BIMI setup: Enforcement on subdomains will not help with BIMI enforcement.

What email marketers say
11Marketer opinions

ESPs are enforcing DMARC policies primarily to enhance security, improve deliverability, and protect brand reputation. DMARC helps prevent spoofing and phishing attacks by allowing domain owners to specify how email recipients should handle unauthenticated messages. While DMARC enforcement offers significant benefits such as increased customer trust and reduced spam, it also presents challenges including complex setup requirements, potential for misconfiguration, and the need for ongoing monitoring to ensure legitimate emails are not inadvertently blocked. Additionally, although beneficial, DMARC enforcement on subdomains does not directly help with BIMI setup which requires enforcement on the TLD.

Key opinions

  • Security: DMARC enforcement protects against spoofing and phishing, enhancing the security of email communication.
  • Deliverability: A strong DMARC policy improves email deliverability by signaling trustworthiness to mailbox providers.
  • Brand Protection: DMARC enforcement prevents unauthorized use of domains, maintaining customer trust and preventing brand association with spam.
  • Compliance: Enforcing DMARC is increasingly becoming a compliance requirement for organizations handling sensitive data.

Key considerations

  • Complexity: DMARC setup and configuration can be complex, requiring expertise in SPF, DKIM, and DMARC reporting.
  • Misconfiguration Risks: Incorrect DMARC settings can lead to legitimate emails being blocked, causing business disruptions.
  • Ongoing Monitoring: Continuous monitoring and analysis of DMARC reports are necessary to identify and address authentication issues.
  • BIMI requirements: DMARC enforcement on subdomains will not help with BIMI enforcement.
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackExchange explains that one of the key implications of ESPs enforcing DMARC is enhanced brand protection. By preventing unauthorized use of your domain, DMARC helps maintain customer trust and prevents your brand from being associated with spam or phishing activities.

September 2023 - StackExchange
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailGeek Forum explains enforcing DMARC is becoming a compliance requirement for many organizations, especially those handling sensitive data. ESPs often push for DMARC adoption to ensure their clients meet industry standards and avoid potential legal issues related to email security.

April 2024 - EmailGeek Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from SendGrid shares that ESPs enforce DMARC policies to provide increased security for their customers. By mandating DMARC, they are helping to protect domains from being spoofed, which in turn maintains the integrity of their email sending platform and the overall email ecosystem.

October 2024 - SendGrid
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that DMARC enforcement is important because it directly impacts whether your emails land in the inbox or spam folder. A strong DMARC policy signals to mailbox providers that you are serious about security, leading to better deliverability rates.

October 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from TechTarget shares the global push for increased DMARC adoption leads to more secure and trustworthy email communication. Enforcing DMARC helps to reduce phishing attacks and improve overall email security, benefitting both senders and recipients.

October 2021 - TechTarget
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that they had only one client in the last 6 months with this sort of set up and it was a source of confusion and annoyance. They can definitely see the justification from the ESP’s point of view, though.

April 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that enforcing DMARC helps improve email deliverability and protects your brand reputation. By implementing a strict DMARC policy, ESPs are essentially ensuring that only legitimate emails from your domain reach the inbox, leading to better engagement and customer trust.

February 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that one implication of DMARC enforcement is the often complex setup required. It involves understanding and configuring SPF and DKIM, as well as interpreting DMARC reports. This complexity can be a barrier for smaller organizations with limited technical expertise.

June 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks has seen it a few times too and it makes them nervous, though they guess since the ESP is the only service using the subdomain in question, the risks are relatively low, they also mention it drives them crazy to not have the reporting or the control.

November 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from LinkedIn shares that one of the challenges with DMARC enforcement is the need for careful configuration and monitoring. If DMARC is not set up correctly, legitimate emails can be blocked, leading to potential loss of revenue or customer communication.

November 2023 - LinkedIn
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Subdomains with DMARC enforcement won't really help with BIMI specifically, since it requires enforcement on the TLD, which can often be a little harder to authenticate and get to enforcement if there are multiple services sending from it.

October 2021 - Email Geeks

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

ESPs are enforcing DMARC policies primarily to safeguard their sending infrastructure, boost deliverability for clients, and prevent the damage caused by spoofing and phishing attacks. Enforcing DMARC encourages better email authentication practices. Key implications include the need for senders to ensure proper configuration of SPF and DKIM. Failure to do so can lead to legitimate emails being blocked. Expert opinions also highlight that doing this without client knowledge can be frustrating, as seen with multiple platforms using the same subdomain. Implementing DMARC also enhances brand reputation and increases consumer trust.

Key opinions

  • Infrastructure Protection: DMARC enforcement protects ESPs' sending infrastructure from damage caused by spoofing and phishing attacks.
  • Improved Deliverability: Enforcing DMARC boosts deliverability for ESP clients by encouraging better email authentication.
  • Brand Reputation: Implementing DMARC provides long-term advantages, enhancing brand reputation, which increases consumer trust.
  • Authentication Practices: DMARC encourages better email authentication practices among senders.

Key considerations

  • Proper Configuration: Senders must ensure their email authentication (SPF and DKIM) is properly configured to avoid legitimate emails being blocked.
  • Client Knowledge: Doing this without client knowledge can lead to frustration, especially with multiple platforms using the same subdomain.
  • Monitoring: Senders need to monitor DMARC reports to identify and address any authentication problems.
  • Reporting: The default of reject without reporting seems reckless.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that doing this without client knowledge could lead to a lot of frustration on their end. Also they have seen weird things over the years like trying to use the same subdomain on multiple platforms.

May 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spamresource explains that ESPs are increasingly enforcing DMARC policies to protect their sending infrastructure and improve overall deliverability for their clients. DMARC enforcement helps prevent spoofing and phishing attacks, which can damage an ESP's reputation and lead to blacklisting. Additionally, it encourages better email authentication practices among senders.

November 2021 - Spamresource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains implementing DMARC provides long-term advantages, enhancing brand reputation, which increases consumer trust and email marketing effectiveness. This happens by reducing instances of unauthorized use of a domain.

November 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks mentions they've seen a few ESPs doing this and have worked with clients to get records properly setup to send reporting (RUA) to their systems in the past. However, they feel the default of reject without reporting seems reckless.

May 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spamresource shares that one implication of DMARC enforcement is that senders must ensure their email authentication (SPF and DKIM) is properly configured. Failure to do so can result in legitimate emails being blocked, leading to deliverability issues and potential business disruptions. Senders need to monitor DMARC reports to identify and address any authentication problems.

November 2023 - Spamresource

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Documentation explains that ESPs enforce DMARC policies to combat phishing and spoofing by allowing domain owners to instruct recipient mail servers on handling emails failing SPF and DKIM authentication. DMARC empowers domain owners to control unauthenticated email by selecting actions like quarantine or reject. DMARC also helps protect sender reputation and recipient security. Furthermore, DMARC's reporting mechanisms offer domain owners visibility into email sending sources, enabling abuse detection and better authentication policy management.

Key findings

  • Phishing and Spoofing Prevention: Enforcing DMARC blocks unauthorized emails, preventing phishing and spoofing attacks.
  • Domain Owner Control: DMARC provides domain owners control over the handling of unauthenticated email.
  • Reputation and Security: Enforcing DMARC protects both the sender's reputation and the recipient's security.
  • Reporting Mechanisms: DMARC offers reporting mechanisms to identify sending sources and detect potential abuse.

Key considerations

Technical article

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that a properly configured DMARC policy gives domain owners control over what happens to unauthenticated email. Enforcing DMARC allows admins to select the actions taken on messages such as quarantine or reject, thereby influencing the email ecosystem's behavior towards unauthorized use of their domain.

May 2022 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Technical article

Documentation from dmarc.org explains that DMARC allows domain owners to instruct recipient mail servers on how to handle emails that fail authentication checks (SPF and DKIM). Enforcing DMARC policies, particularly setting the policy to 'reject', ensures that unauthorized emails using a domain are blocked, thus preventing phishing and spoofing attacks.

March 2022 - dmarc.org
Technical article

Documentation from RFC7489 (the DMARC standard) details that DMARC provides reporting mechanisms that allow domain owners to gain visibility into who is sending email on their behalf. These reports help identify legitimate sending sources and detect potential abuse, enabling better management of email authentication policies.

October 2023 - RFC Editor
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that using DMARC helps to prevent spoofing and phishing attacks by allowing domain owners to specify how email recipients should handle messages that fail SPF or DKIM checks. Enforcing this policy helps protect both the sender's reputation and the recipient's security.

March 2022 - Microsoft