SPF is the email authentication protocol that allows domain owners to specify which mail servers they officially allow to be used to send emails on behalf of a domain. Wildcarding in SPF is done using the ‘*’ mechanism. It matches any domain or IP that doesn’t explicitly match other mechanisms in the record. Wildcarding usually…
A broken SPF record means there is some issue in it; either it’s misconfigured, incomplete, or exceeds the technical limits. Such an SPF record fails to perform its responsibility of checking if the email sent from your domain is authenticated. This may also disrupt the flow of legitimate emails from your domain, leaving security gaps…
An SPF record includes the servers and IP ranges a domain owner allows to be used to send emails on behalf of their brand. It’s composed of syntaxes, primarily categorized as SPF mechanisms, SPF qualifiers, and SPF modifiers. The combination of these syntaxes lets domain owners clearly convey how they want the receiving servers to…
RFC 5322 includes the syntax for Internet email headers. This means it does not say anything directly about how SPF should be configured and maintained. However, we know SPF works in conjunction with the email headers defined in RFC5322, particularly the ‘MAIL FROM’ and ‘Return-Path’ headers. It’s true that SPF’s job is to verify the…
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the European compliance that came into effect in 2018. It aims to protect the personal data of European residents by helping them with a broader view of how their personal data is collected, processed, and stored by government and private organizations. GDPR is a complicated compliance that requires the…
Having multiple SPF records for a domain results in the PermError, which indicates a fundamental problem with the configurations and violation of the SPF specifications. Moreover, multiple SPF records confuse mail servers, triggering false positives and impacting email engagement rates. SPF requires all mechanisms and qualifiers to be in one TXT record, which shouldn’t exceed…
The truth is that the most important people in your organization are also the most targeted individuals for cyber-attacks due to their access to the most critical information and the management of sensitive systems that are major targets for cyber-attackers. Since these accounts are the key to your organization’s most valuable resources, it only makes…
Integrating wildcard in your SPF record minimizes the risk of impersonation of your domain or subdomain. A wildcard DNS record with * acts as a catch-all for any subdomain that is not explicitly defined in DNS. It basically includes all possible subdomains of a domain. How does wildcarding work in SPF? Wildcarding can simplify SPF…
A typical user receives multiple emails a day, some of which are essential updates or personal messages, while others are marketing emails from various brands. In this crowded inbox, what are the odds that your email will stand out and strike a chord with the recipient? Let’s say it’s quite slim unless you add something…
Overly permissive SPF configurations refer to settings that are set so loosely and broadly that anyone on the Internet can send emails from your domain. These configurations weaken your email infrastructure, ultimately exposing your brand name to phishing, spoofing, ransomware attacks, and other security risks. If unauthorized, malicious people send emails from your domain and…
