You might have often come across the term quid pro quo, perhaps in the context of legal or business dealings. This Latin phrase, which means “something for something,” has also found its way into the domain of cybersecurity, and one thing’s clear: it’s laden with negative implications. When understood in the context of cybersecurity, the…
When it comes to upholding the integrity and security of your email communications, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is the frontline barrier that keeps malicious actors at bay by maintaining a record of all the mail servers authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. To effectively protect your domain, you need an SPF record…
In SPF, fallback mechanisms come into play when an email fails SPF checks, but the recipient’s server or policies offer ways to handle or mitigate the failure. They provide you the flexibility in handling emails that fail SPF checks while still being able to maintain security through other email authentication protocols. This ensures that email…
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…
To enable SPF for your domain, you need to add a DNS TXT record at your domain provider. When doing so, keep the following points in mind to ensure everything works efficiently and there are no security gaps. Add your SPF record Use your credentials to sign in to your domain host’s management console and…
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…
It’s common for businesses to have multiple subdomains, but what about their security? While some domain owners completely ignore securing their subdomains, some subject them to the SPF policy of the parent domain. Yes, the latter is definitely better than the former, but even that doesn’t promise robust defense against phishing, spoofing, and ransomware attacks…
Here’s a harsh truth: spoofing attacks are more frequent and prevalent than you think. They are not just about someone pretending to be you by using sneaky iterations of your business name. The real issue is them capitalizing on your brand name, your credibility, and your trustworthiness to deceive others. That is, if there is…
SPF, which is short for Sender Policy Framework, is an email authentication protocol that allows Microsoft 365 domain owners to prevent threat actors from succeeding in deceiving recipients by sending phishing and spoofing emails from your domain. With SPF in place, emails sent by only officially authorized IP addresses and servers linked to your domain…
We are more than halfway down in 2024, and the number of AI-based scams is not looking like it’s in the mood for dwindling anytime soon. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, AI-based threats have grown, especially in their speed, volume, and sophistication. In fact, the Q4 of 2022 saw an increase of…
