Understanding the importance of DMARC in interagency phishing guide

Phishing attacks have spread over the digital world like a plague. Not only are these attacks frequent, but they are also grave and capable of causing irreparable damage to your brand’s reputation. Not to mention the financial toll;  phishing attacks cost companies an average of $4.88 million per data breach.

Looking at the skyrocketing numbers and the unprecedented repercussions, there is a need for a strategic framework to mitigate the risk and impact of these attacks. Agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) are doing exactly this with Phishing Guidance—Stopping the Attack Cycle at Phase One.

Is the phishing guidance meant for all?

Although this guide is meant for organizations of all sizes, it particularly caters to small businesses that do not have a large IT team to combat these threats. The guide includes sections on how these small companies can protect themselves, especially if they do not have the resources or the capacity to fully commit to cybersecurity. 

This guide advocates for software manufacturers to use ‘secure-by-design and default’ practices to prevent phishing attacks from exploiting vulnerabilities in their products. This also allows them to develop and deliver software that is inherently secure and tackles the wrath of phishing attacks.

What does the phishing mitigation guidance say about DMARC?

It is no longer a surprise that DMARC is one of the most reliable and robust authentication protocols out there. This is exactly why even the top agencies in the U.S., including CISA, NSA, FBI, and MS-ISAC, encourage organizations to implement DMARC to prevent phishing attacks. 

Let us take a look at what they say:

Enable DMARC for outgoing emails

Make sure DMARC is turned on for all outgoing emails. This way, receiving servers can verify if the emails claiming to come from your brand are actually sent by authorized entities. This practice ensures that recipients don’t get manipulated to open unsolicited and potentially malicious emails sent illegitimately from your domain. 

Configure multiple report receivers

You can have multiple people or systems reporting about the activities happening in your DMARC. This will give you insights into all the suspicious activities happening in your email ecosystem. These reports enable you to adjust DMARC settings without keeping the email system vulnerable for long.

Set DMARC to ‘p=reject’ for outgoing emails

Perhaps the critical aspect of securing your email communication is to set DMARC to ‘p=reject’ for outgoing emails. But make sure while doing it, you follow a gradual and strategic approach. This allows you to spot and block emails impersonating your domain, even before they reach the recipients. If your business style is such that it can’t afford instances of false positives, then consider setting DMARC to ‘p=quarantine.’ Unless you have just started with DMARC for your domain or it’s under some testing phase, don’t set ‘p=none.’

Block spoofed emails before they get delivered

Spoofed emails that do not pass DMARC authentication will not get delivered and will be blocked by the mail server. 

Coming back to software manufacturers, the guidance lays out a simple strategy— secure-by-design and secure-by-default practices. In other words, it encourages them to build security right into their products from the beginning to help prevent phishing attacks against their users. As for DMARC implementation, the agencies recommend that:

• Email software should automatically turn on DMARC to verify incoming emails.
• An important feature is to set DMARC policies to ‘p=reject.’ That means any unauthorized email sender who attempts to masquerade you or someone from your company gets blocked.

This is the Secure By Design approach, which means building security into the product itself and not an afterthought add-on. CISA and its other global partners emphasize that software should have such protections built-in to avoid opening any scope for cyber attackers that can harm your organization. 

With some of the most credible agencies in the world recommending DMARC, one thing is clear: you can no longer be on the fence about implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. You must follow a proactive approach to deal with the ever-growing problem of phishing attacks. Whether you’re a big organization, a small business, or a software manufacturer, DMARC is a key tool for controlling and securing your email domain. 

To get started with DMARC implementation for your business, you can trust our team of experts. We’re here to help you protect all that you have built over the years— your brand value, reputation, and customer trust. To get started, contact us today!