The future of SPF flattening; trends and emerging practices

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 4 minutes

SPF flattening prevents your SPF record from exceeding the maximum lookup limit and becoming invalid. The process works by simplifying the SPF record, eliminating the need for frequent lookups, thereby keeping it within the limit. However, with growing adoption, intricate email infrastructures, improper email authentication practices, and emerging technologies, the future of SPF flattening is…

8 cybersecurity trends that will redefine the digital landscape in 2024

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 5 minutes

The ever-evolving digital landscape is bringing both solace and trouble to people. Cyber advancement has made both our professional and personal lives easy. But at the same time, the invasion of threat actors at every level is indeed a serious concern. In 2023 alone, there has been a staggering 6.06 billion malware attacks across the…

Automating SPF macro management with scripting and APIs: a step-by-step guide

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 4 minutes

SPF macros are placeholders used within SPF records. They dynamically dilate to specific values based on the characteristics of the email being processed, letting SPF mechanisms be more flexible and adaptive. If you have large-scale email systems, then we suggest you automate the management of SPF macros for efficient email authentication. For efficient management, consider…

How threat actors managed to send millions of phishing emails from trusted domains- explaining echo-spoofing

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 3 minutes

In the first half of 2024, a simple toggle in Proofpoint’s email service allowed threat actors to send millions of hard-to-detect emails impersonating blue-chip companies. They exploited a misconfiguration in Proofpoint’s secure email gateway (SEG) to send fraudulent credit card emails. These emails bypassed security filters as they were signed and verified, looking like they…

SPF for multi-domain environments: challenges and solutions

SPF for multi-domain environments: challenges and solutions

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 4 minutes

Most large-scale businesses own multiple domains and subdomains, which are heavily used for sending emails. A multi-domain environment is more prone to email-based cyber threats. In fact, in a recent attack, malicious actors compromised more than 8,000 subdomains of top brands and institutions, including MSN, VMware, McAfee, The Economist, eBay, etc.  While using multiple domains…

Configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 3 minutes

Brevo is a digital marketing platform that caters to the marketing and communication needs of businesses. Its suite of tools and services includes email marketing, SMS marketing, marketing automation, CRM, landing pages, Facebook ads, and much more.  If you use Brevo for email marketing, then deploying SPF, DKIM, and DMARC or making changes to the…

What is the ‘554 5.7.5’ permanent error in DMARC and how to fix it?

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 7 minutes

The response from the remote server was: Have you been receiving this error message lately? If so, then your DMARC has an issue – it has encountered a “554 5.7.5 Permanent Error Evaluating DMARC Policy” error when sending emails. This triggers the email delivery process, ultimately causing emails to either land in spam folders or…

Troubleshooting the ‘SPF alignment failed’ error for unaffected email authentication and delivery

Troubleshooting the ‘SPF alignment failed’ error for unaffected email authentication and delivery

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 4 minutes

When you create an SPF record, the most important step you perform is mentioning all the mail servers or IP addresses allowed to send emails as your brand’s representatives. So, when the domains in the ‘From’ address and the ‘Envelope From’ address, also known as ‘Return-Path;’ match, SPF alignment passes. In simpler words, SPF alignment…

Reasons for Code 550 SPF Check Failed Error and How to Fix it?

ByBrad Slavin Reading Time: 2 minutes

Domain owners may often come across the ‘550 SPF check failed’ error, which is generally triggered by the absence of a valid SPF record in the domain’s DNS. It also occurs if there is an invalid record present in the DNS of your domain.  It’s a configurational error that can be fixed at the sender’s…