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Summary
Dealing with a failing DMARC email authentication protocol involves a multi-faceted approach encompassing monitoring, diagnosis, and remediation. Initially, implement a DMARC reporting tool to collect and analyze reports that identify failing email sources and causes, such as SPF alignment issues, DKIM signature failures, or unauthorized sending sources. Troubleshoot by checking SPF and DKIM records for accuracy and alignment, and audit email sending practices to identify legitimate sources. Resolve issues by configuring SPF and DKIM correctly, progressively tightening DMARC policies, and validating SPF records. For bulk senders, proper authentication alignment is crucial to meet requirements from Yahoo and Google. Internal systems and third-party vendors must be properly configured with SPF/DKIM. The initial DMARC policy (p=none) won't impact deliverability, but transitioning to stricter policies (p=quarantine or p=reject) requires careful monitoring and analysis to ensure legitimate mail is authenticating properly. Engaging a DMARC service provider can aid in this process. Tools such as aboutmy.email can assist in diagnosing issues. Failures indicate the email isn't authenticated as you, but as your ESP. It is critical to identify the source of the failing email stream and investigate the authentication method used by the sending server.

Key findings

  • Reporting is Crucial: Implementing and understanding DMARC reports is essential for pinpointing the sources and causes of authentication failures.
  • SPF/DKIM Alignment is Key: Ensuring that SPF and DKIM are accurately configured and properly aligned is fundamental to DMARC success.
  • Authentication Source Matters: Authentication should align with the sender's domain, not just the ESP (Email Service Provider), particularly for bulk senders.
  • Progressive Implementation: Transitioning to stricter DMARC policies (quarantine or reject) should be done gradually, based on report analysis and verification of proper authentication.
  • Auditing Practices: Regularly auditing email sending practices and identifying all legitimate sources is necessary for ongoing DMARC management.

Key considerations

  • Start with p=none: Initially, using a DMARC policy of 'p=none' allows for monitoring without impacting email delivery.
  • Vendor and System Alignment: Ensure that all internal systems and third-party vendors properly implement SPF and DKIM to align with DMARC requirements.
  • Leverage External Expertise: Consider engaging a DMARC service provider for assistance with report analysis and configuration adjustments.
  • Bulk Sender Requirements: Bulk senders must prioritize authentication alignment to comply with guidelines from major email providers like Yahoo and Google.
  • Utilize Diagnostic Tools: Leverage tools like aboutmy.email to gain deeper insights into DMARC configuration issues.
  • Validate SPF Records: Use tools to validate SPF records and ensure proper DKIM key setup.
  • Investigate Source: Identify the source of the failing email stream and investigate the authentication method used by the sending server.
What email marketers say
6 marketer opinions
Dealing with a failing DMARC email authentication protocol involves several key steps. Initially, implement a DMARC reporting tool to collect and analyze reports, which provide insights into authentication failures. Common causes include SPF alignment problems, DKIM signature issues, and unauthorized sending sources. Troubleshooting requires checking SPF and DKIM records for accuracy, ensuring proper alignment, and auditing email sending practices to identify legitimate sources. Implementing SPF and DKIM correctly and tightening DMARC policies progressively helps protect the domain from spoofing and phishing attacks. Addressing SPF alignment, where the 'Return-Path' and 'From' header domains must match, is also crucial. Ultimately, configuring DMARC properly and monitoring reports improves sender reputation and email engagement rates.

Key opinions

  • Reporting Tools: Implementing a DMARC reporting tool is essential for identifying and analyzing authentication failures.
  • SPF/DKIM Alignment: Checking SPF and DKIM records for accuracy and ensuring they are properly aligned is crucial for resolving DMARC failures.
  • Auditing Email Practices: Auditing email sending practices and identifying all legitimate sources of email is necessary to address DMARC issues.
  • SPF Alignment: Ensuring SPF alignment, where the 'Return-Path' and 'From' header domains match, is critical for DMARC success.
  • Deliverability Impact: Proper DMARC configuration is crucial for improving email deliverability and sender reputation by preventing spoofing and phishing.

Key considerations

  • Tool Familiarity: Compliance services are suggested for those unfamiliar with authentication protocols to aid in proper setup.
  • Actionable Insights: DMARC reports provide valuable insights enabling targeted actions to improve authentication and prevent unauthorized use.
  • Monitoring Progress: Use DMARC monitoring tools to track progress as adjustments are made to authentication setup.
  • Progressive Policy: Tighten DMARC policies progressively to protect the domain effectively from spoofing and phishing attacks.
  • Vendor Alignment: Ensure alignment of both internal systems and third-party vendors to comply with SPF or DKIM.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares to sign up for a reporting tool to collect reports and properly authenticate and align failing sources, suggesting compliance services for those unfamiliar.
21 Jun 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Postmark shares that resolving DMARC issues often requires a multi-step approach, starting with auditing your email sending practices and identifying all legitimate sources of email. Implementing SPF and DKIM correctly, and then monitoring DMARC reports, allows you to progressively tighten your DMARC policy to protect your domain from spoofing and phishing attacks.
16 Jun 2024 - Postmark
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Dealing with a failing DMARC email authentication protocol requires understanding DMARC reports, which identify failing email sources and the reasons for authentication failures. Misconfigured SPF records, DKIM issues, and unaligned authentication (where emails are authenticated as the ESP, not the sender) are common problems, especially for bulk senders due to Yahoo and Google's requirements. Publishing DMARC with 'p=none' doesn't affect deliverability initially, but transitioning to 'p=reject' after ensuring proper SPF and DKIM authentication is recommended, particularly for BIMI deployment. Successful DMARC implementation also involves monitoring aggregate reports to ensure legitimate mail is authenticating correctly before adopting stricter policies (p=quarantine or p=reject). Internal systems and third-party vendors not properly configured with SPF/DKIM can cause failures, and engaging with a DMARC service provider can assist in report analysis and authentication adjustments.

Key opinions

  • DMARC Reporting Importance: Understanding and utilizing DMARC reports is essential for identifying failing email sources and the causes of authentication failures.
  • Authentication Alignment: Authentication alignment (emails being authenticated as the sender, not the ESP) is crucial, particularly for bulk senders, to meet Yahoo and Google's requirements.
  • SPF/DKIM Configuration: Misconfigured SPF records and DKIM issues are common reasons for DMARC failures, highlighting the need for validation and proper setup.
  • Phased Policy Implementation: Transitioning to stricter DMARC policies (p=quarantine or p=reject) should be done gradually after ensuring proper authentication of legitimate mail.

Key considerations

  • Initial Policy: Publishing DMARC with 'p=none' has no immediate impact on deliverability and is a good starting point.
  • External System Setup: Ensuring internal systems and third-party vendors are properly configured with SPF and DKIM is critical for DMARC success.
  • Third-Party Assistance: Engaging with a DMARC service provider can aid in analyzing reports and making necessary adjustments to authentication configurations.
  • Bulk Sender Requirements: Bulk senders should pay close attention to authentication alignment, as it directly impacts compliance with Yahoo and Google's requirements.
  • aboutmy.email: Using aboutmy.email can provide more concrete advice regarding DMARC configuration issues.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that when encountering DMARC failures, it's essential to start by understanding the DMARC reports. These reports highlight which email sources are failing authentication and why. Common causes include misconfigured SPF records, DKIM signature issues, or unauthorized sending sources. It is important to validate SPF records using tools and ensure proper DKIM key setup. Filtering IPs is also important.
3 Nov 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains publishing DMARC with p=none will not affect deliverability. Suggests going down the path of making that p=reject after using DMARC reporting to make sure all the mail you send is authenticated with SPF or DKIM, especially if you want to deploy BIMI.
13 May 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Dealing with failing DMARC involves identifying the source of failing email streams, often requiring investigation into the sending server's authentication method and updating its settings to properly authenticate emails with SPF or DKIM. DMARC failures indicate improperly authenticated emails, so implementing DMARC reporting is crucial for identifying failure sources, adjusting SPF/DKIM records, and investigating potential spoofing. DMARC policies (p=quarantine/reject) dictate how mail servers handle failed messages. Addressing failures in environments like Microsoft 365 requires reviewing mail flow, identifying services sending on behalf of the domain, configuring them for SPF/DKIM, and monitoring DMARC reports. DMARC allows domain owners to specify how receivers handle failed authentication checks, instructing them to reject, quarantine, or deliver messages normally, while also providing reports on authentication results.

Key findings

  • Source Identification: Identifying the source of the email stream failing DMARC is the initial step.
  • Authentication Methods: Investigating and updating sending server authentication settings (SPF/DKIM) is essential.
  • DMARC Reporting: Implementing DMARC reporting is crucial for identifying failure sources and potential spoofing attempts.
  • Policy Enforcement: DMARC policies (p=quarantine/reject) determine how receiving mail servers handle failed messages.
  • Mail Flow Review: Reviewing mail flow and identifying sending services are necessary for addressing DMARC failures in environments like Microsoft 365.

Key considerations

  • SPF/DKIM Configuration: Ensuring proper SPF and DKIM configuration is paramount for authenticating emails correctly.
  • Monitoring and Analysis: Continuous monitoring of DMARC reports is necessary to track compliance and improve deliverability.
  • Spoofing Prevention: Addressing DMARC failures helps prevent spoofing and unauthorized use of your domain.
  • Policy Selection: Choosing the appropriate DMARC policy (reject, quarantine, or none) depends on your organization's security posture and risk tolerance.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that to fix DMARC failures, first identify the source of the email stream that is failing DMARC. Investigate the authentication method that the sending server is using and then update the sending server's authentication settings to properly authenticate email with SPF or DKIM.
12 May 2023 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Technical article
Documentation from DMARC.org shares that when DMARC fails, it indicates that an email is not properly authenticated. Implementing DMARC reporting helps identify the sources of these failures, allowing you to adjust your SPF and DKIM records or investigate potential spoofing attempts. DMARC policies (p=quarantine or p=reject) dictate how recipient mail servers should handle these failed messages.
8 Oct 2024 - DMARC.org
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