{"id":3803,"date":"2022-04-26T08:38:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T06:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemind.purpl-web.com\/?p=3803"},"modified":"2022-04-26T08:40:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T06:40:02","slug":"authentication-the-three-pillars-of-secure-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemind.purpl-web.com\/en\/authentication-the-three-pillars-of-secure-email\/","title":{"rendered":"Authentication: The three pillars of secure email"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are 316,6 billion email exchanges every day around the world (2021 figures, source Statista<\/a>), most of which is spam<\/a>. As a company or public organisation, you\u2019ve obviously set up an antispam system to protect your users from this endless flow of junk messages. So far, so good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until one day you realise that the messages you send no longer reach their destination. Your emails go out but don\u2019t make it to their recipients. Your IT Department is adamant: everything is set up properly, all your systems are go, the issue isn\u2019t on your end. Your recipients are the ones not accepting your emails, and that\u2019s to do with authentication, which can be fixed easily.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s have a look at the ins-and-outs of email security and what your options are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Email authentication: what for?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Email authentication is the process through which your recipient\u2019s mail server verifies the authenticity of your messages. It\u2019s a little like a digital passport<\/strong>: it\u2019s what enables your mail server and spam filters to confirm that your emails are indeed yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organisations need<\/strong> email authentication because it\u2019s what ensures email deliverability<\/strong>. Without it, messages may be filtered out automatically, and they will no longer reach their recipients.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three<\/strong> main authentication standards<\/strong> are used to confirm that an email message does come from the person it claims to be: SPF, DKIM and DMARC.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SPF: Sender Policy Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SPF is used to specify what IP addresses are authorised<\/strong> to send emails on behalf of a given domain and therefore prevents other servers from using your domain as a sender address. The IP addresses authorised to send emails on behalf of a domain are published in a DNS TXT record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SPF<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But SPF isn\u2019t always enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emails validated by SPF may be forgeries<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Emails have two sender addresses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n