Email Security
Your Emails Should Reach Inboxes, Not Spam Folders
Your emails have started landing in spam. A client mentioned they never got your message. You got a warning from Google or Microsoft that doesn't quite make sense. However you got here, email deliverability has become something you need to think about, and it's more complicated than it should be.
That's where we come in. We handle the entire DMARC process, from initial setup through ongoing monitoring, so your legitimate emails get delivered and fraudulent ones get blocked. No XML reports to parse, no DNS records to decipher, no wondering if you configured it right.
The Short Version: What DMARC Actually Does
DMARC is an email authentication protocol that verifies emails claiming to come from your domain actually do. It works alongside two other technologies, SPF and DKIM, to create a layered defense against email fraud.
Here's the simple version: SPF confirms the mail server is authorized to send on your behalf. DKIM adds a digital signature proving the message hasn't been tampered with. DMARC ties them together and tells receiving servers what to do when authentication fails: accept it, quarantine it, or reject it entirely.
What This Means for You
Want the full technical picture? Read our guide: Your Guide to Email Security and Deliverability.
Why This Matters Now
The major email providers have drawn a line in the sand. If you're sending bulk email without proper authentication, your messages are increasingly likely to end up in spam or get blocked entirely.
Google & Yahoo
Since February 2024, organizations sending more than 5,000 emails per day to Gmail or Yahoo addresses must have SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in place. No exceptions.
Microsoft
Microsoft has similar requirements for high-volume senders to Outlook, Hotmail, and Live addresses. They're getting stricter every year.
Beyond email deliverability, DMARC helps with broader compliance requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS, all of which expect protection of sensitive communications.
What We Handle
DMARC isn't a set-it-and-forget-it thing. It requires ongoing monitoring, adjustment, and analysis. We handle all of it so you don't have to become an email authentication expert.
Why This Works
Email authentication is tricky. Configure it too strictly and you block legitimate emails. Too loosely and you leave your domain vulnerable to spoofing. We've done this enough times to know how to get it right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need DMARC if we're a small business? +
Yes, and for two independent reasons. Deliverability: Google and Yahoo require SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for any sender hitting 5,000+ messages a day to their users, and they're progressively lowering that threshold. Security: without DMARC, anyone can spoof your domain and send phishing emails to your clients. Domain size doesn't change that.
How long does it take to get DMARC to enforcement? +
Most domains reach p=quarantine within 30–60 days and p=reject within 60–120 days. The timeline depends on how many services send mail on your behalf (marketing platforms, billing systems, help desk tools) and how clean each one's SPF and DKIM setup is. We start in p=none (monitoring only) so we can find every sender before any mail gets blocked.
Will DMARC break our legitimate email? +
Not if it's rolled out correctly. The entire point of starting at p=none is to catch every legitimate sender in reports before we enforce. We identify marketing platforms, payroll systems, CRM senders, and one-off shadow-IT services, get them authenticated properly, then move to enforcement only after the reports are clean. Done right, enforcement is a non-event for your users.
What does ongoing DMARC management actually involve? +
Daily review of aggregate reports, investigating authentication failures, re-authenticating new services as teams add them, responding to abuse reports (spoofing attempts against your domain), and keeping policies aligned as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft tighten requirements. DMARC isn't a one-time project—new senders get added every month in most businesses.
Does DMARC help with compliance frameworks like HIPAA or PCI DSS? +
Yes. DMARC supports the "protection of sensitive communications" expectations in HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, and GDPR. It isn't a mandate by itself in most frameworks, but auditors increasingly expect domain-level authentication as part of a defensible email-security program, and it's one of the simpler controls to implement cleanly.
Can you manage DMARC for multiple domains or subdomains? +
Yes. We manage parent domains and their subdomains together, including using DMARC's sp= policy to cover subdomains that don't send mail, and domain-specific policies where you have a main brand, a marketing domain, and a billing domain that each behave differently.
Want to Talk?
Whether you're starting from scratch or trying to figure out why your current DMARC setup isn't working, we can help you sort it out.