DMARC: Explanation & Insights
DMARC, which stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, is an email authentication protocol. It builds on the widely deployed SPF and DKIM protocols, adding a reporting function that allows senders and receivers to improve and monitor protection of the domain from fraudulent email.
Understanding DMARC is crucial for the security of your server and email communication, as it helps to prevent email spoofing. Email spoofing is a common problem where attackers send email messages with a forged sender address, which are used for phishing and spam.
Setting Up DMARC
Setting up DMARC involves creating a DMARC record in your Domain Name System (DNS) settings. This record tells receiving mail servers how to handle emails that fail DMARC checks.
The DNS record would look something like this:
_dmarc.example.com. 3600 IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none"
In the Linux terminal, you can use the dig command to check your DMARC record:
dig TXT _dmarc.example.com
DMARC Policy
The DMARC policy is defined by the 'p' tag in the DMARC record. It tells the receiving server what to do if the DMARC check fails. There are three possible policies: 'none', 'quarantine', and 'reject'.
- 'none' means the DMARC policy does nothing, it only collects reporting data.
- 'quarantine' means to treat the mail as suspicious, usually the mail is placed in the spam folder.
- 'reject' means to reject the mail outright.
Reporting with DMARC
DMARC provides a way for the email receiver to report back to the sender about messages that pass and/or fail DMARC evaluation. These reports can provide valuable insight into your email ecosystem, including the ability to detect malicious or unauthorized activity.
To enable reporting, you add a 'rua' tag to your DMARC record, which specifies an email address to send aggregate reports to.
_dmarc.example.com. 3600 IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:postmaster@example.com"
Monitoring DMARC
Once DMARC is set up, it's important to monitor your system to ensure it's working correctly and to analyze any threats. You can do this by reviewing the DMARC reports you receive. There are also third-party tools available that can help with DMARC monitoring and reporting.
Troubleshooting DMARC
If you are experiencing problems with DMARC, such as legitimate emails being rejected, one potential issue could be misalignment. DMARC requires that the domain in the ‘From’ header matches the domain used in SPF or DKIM. This is known as 'alignment'. If these do not match, the email will fail the DMARC check.
To troubleshoot DMARC issues, you can use the dig command in Linux to check your DMARC record:
dig TXT _dmarc.example.com
You can also use online DMARC checkers to validate your DMARC record.
Conclusion
DMARC is a powerful tool for improving email security and reducing spam and phishing attacks. While it can be complex to set up and manage, the benefits for your server and email communication are substantial.
