What is email authentication

Email authentication is a technical process by which email servers verify the authenticity of the sender and of the email contents. Also known as email validation, this process ensures the integrity of an email message. Properly configured, email authentication can block fraudulent activities such as spoofing, phishing, and forgery. Simply put, email authentication assures recipients that their incoming emails come from verified and trusted senders with no malicious intent.

Why you need email authentication

Email is not the most secure form of communication. There are many attacks and threats that can be found in emails. Here are some that authentication can help protect you from:

• Phishing emails: These emails attempt to trick recipients into providing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, or credit card numbers by masquerading as legitimate entities. Authentication helps verify the identity of the sender, reducing the likelihood of falling victim to phishing scams

• Spoofed emails: Spoofing involves forging the sender's email address to make it appear as if the email is coming from a trusted source. Email authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC ensure that the sender's identity is legitimate, preventing spoofed email from reaching your inbox

• Malware-laden emails: Some emails contain malicious attachments or links that are designed to install malware on your device. By verifying the authenticity of the sender, email authentication reduces the risk of these harmful emails reaching you

• Business Email Compromise (BEC): BEC involves cybercriminals impersonating high-level executives or trusted business partners to trick employees into transferring money or revealing confidential information. Email authentication helps detect and block these fraudulent emails

• Email reply-chain attacks: Attackers can join existing email threads, often by impersonating one of the participants. Authentication protocols help ensure that each email in a conversation comes from a verified sender, preventing unauthorized intrusions

• Whaling: This is a specific type of phishing that targets high-profile individuals, such as executives, to steal sensitive information. Email authentication can protect against these targeted attacks by verifying the legitimacy of the sender

Email authentication methods

Email authentication methods are critical to ensuring the integrity and security of email communications. These methods help verify that email messages are actually sent from the domains they claim to originate from, preventing various forms of email fraud such as spoofing and phishing.

This chapter covers three primary email authentication protocols: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Each of these protocols plays a unique role in validating email senders and protecting recipients from malicious email. Understanding how these protocols work and implementing them effectively can significantly improve email security for both senders and recipients.

SPF

The Sender Policy Framework (SPF) allows domain owners to maintain a list of verified IP addresses that are authorized to send email on their behalf. When an email reaches a recipient's server, that server compares the incoming IP address to the list in the domain's DNS records. If the IP address matches one on the list, the email is considered legitimate. If it doesn't match, the email is considered likely to be fraudulent. The email server will then follow preset rules to handle the message: it may be marked as spam, quarantined for a period of time, or blocked/deleted altogether.

The SPF system helps email servers identify fraudulent senders who are trying to send an email impersonating someone else (such as in spoofing and phishing attempts). It helps confirm that the identity of the email sender is legitimate and trustworthy.

DKIM

DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) is a key-based system. The email sender creates a private key and a public key pair. The private key is kept within the sender’s email service provider (ESP), while the public key is stored in the DNS. When the recipient receives the email, their ESP can verify that the private key matches the public key stored in the DNS.

DKIM uses cryptography to add an encrypted signature to each email sent, ensuring that the email has not been altered or forged in transit. Also, DKIM allows the receiver to check that an email that claimed to have come from a specific domain was indeed authorized by the owner of that domain.

DMARC

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) works alongside SPF and DKIM to give domain owners control over how their email is handled by recipients. While SPF and DKIM verify the authenticity of the email sender, DMARC allows domain owners to set policies in the DNS that dictate how recipients should handle emails, especially those that fail authentication checks.

With DMARC, email senders can specify whether recipients should approve, quarantine, or reject emails that do not pass the specified checks. For an email to pass through the DMARC framework, it must successfully pass either SPF or DKIM authentication.

DMARC is highly effective against spoofing, where emails appear to come from a legitimate sender but are actually sent by someone with malicious intent. In addition, DMARC provides a feedback loop for email senders, allowing them to monitor the validation status of emails sent from their domains.

How email authentication works

Email authentication is a complex process that uses multiple protocols to confirm the legitimacy of an email sender. Here's a simplified explanation of how it works:

1. Sender configuration: The domain owner sets up authentication records (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) in their Domain Name System (DNS).
2. Email sending: The email includes sender information and authentication details in its headers.
3. Receiver verification: The receiving mail server checks the email against the authentication records in the sender’s DNS.
4. SPF check: The server verifies that the sending IP address is authorized to send emails for the domain.
5. DKIM verification: The server uses the public key in the DNS to decrypt the DKIM signature and confirm the email’s integrity.
6. DMARC evaluation: If SPF or DKIM checks fail, the server refers to the DMARC policy to decide how to handle the email.
7. Decision: Based on the authentication results, the receiving server decides whether to deliver, quarantine, or reject the email.

The entire process takes place in seconds, providing a strong defense against email security threats while ensuring that legitimate email is delivered to its intended recipients.

Why it’s important to use authentication

Implementing email authentication is essential for businesses and organizations in today's digital environment. Here are the top reasons why email authentication is important:

• Enhanced security: Implementing these measures protects against phishing and spoofing, reduces the risk of malware spreading via email, and protects sensitive information from unauthorized access

• Improved deliverability: Proper authentication increases the likelihood that emails will be delivered to inboxes instead of spam folders, improves the sender's reputation with email service providers, and minimizes the likelihood that legitimate emails will be blocked or filtered

• Brand protection: Email authentication prevents your domain from being hijacked for malicious activity. It ensures that only legitimate email is sent on your behalf, maintaining customer trust and protecting your brand reputation from email-based threats

• Compliance and legal protection: Implementing authentication helps meet regulatory requirements for email security across industries, and provides legal protection by demonstrating due diligence in email practices. This includes compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

• Analytics and insights: DMARC reports provide critical information about email sending behavior and potential misuse, helping to identify and resolve problems with email systems and third-party senders

Final thoughts

Email authentication is a fundamental practice in today's digital world, essential to maintaining robust email security and ensuring the integrity of communications. By using technologies such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, organizations and individuals can protect themselves from a range of threats, including phishing, spoofing, and malware. As cyber threats continue to evolve, it is increasingly important to implement and maintain strong email authentication practices. These practices help protect sensitive information, build trust with recipients, and ensure that emails are both legitimate and effective.