Customer Stories
Strategic DMARC Implementation: Transforming Email Security
A government agency faced significant challenges with email security. One of their primary domains showed 0% DMARC compliance, leaving 15,000 emails vulnerable to spoofing and phishing attacks.
This posed a serious risk, as these attacks could compromise sensitive data and damage the agency's reputation. Recognising the urgency of the situation, the agency sought assistance from SMX, leveraging the expertise of our Domain Protection Service (DPS), which offers a comprehensive managed service solution for DMARC implementation and ongoing support
Phased Implementation Process
To ensure a smooth and successful implementation, we adopted a gradual approach.
- We began by implementing a monitoring phase (p=none) through a comprehensive assessment of the agency's email infrastructure, analysing email flows across all domains, identifying legitimate sending sources and managing complex scenarios such as autoresponders, redirects, and Microsoft 365 forwarding.
- This was followed by systematic improvements to authentication mechanisms, such as managing DKIM certificates and addressing SPF failures, while carefully adjusting policies based on real-world data and observed email behaviour.
- Recognising the need for unique monitoring and support strategies for each domain, we implemented tailored strategies. Some domains required more gradual policy adjustments, while others could accommodate more aggressive security implementations.
Throughout the implementation process, we provided continuous monitoring and support, ensuring a smooth and successful transition to higher DMARC compliance levels for each domain, and adjusting our approach as required.
While navigating technical challenges such as managing autoresponders, handling Microsoft 365 forwarding scenarios, and addressing SPF failures, our team meticulously addressed each issue, ensuring minimal disruption to critical government communications.
This phased approach, combined with the expert guidance of our DPS team, ensured a smooth and successful implementation.
Significant Improvements
The primary domain achieved a remarkable 96% DMARC compliance. Other domains also saw significant improvements, reaching 98% and 98.7% compliance, respectively. This translated to a dramatic reduction in the number of potentially failed emails, from 15,000 to just 93, while maintaining high-security standards.
This case study highlights the critical importance of a strategic, data-driven approach to DMARC implementation. By addressing the unique needs of each domain and leveraging the expertise of our managed services, SMX Domain Protection Services effectively helped the agency enhance its email security posture, mitigate risks, and safeguard essential communications.
The successful implementation of DPS underscores the value of a proactive and managed approach to email security. By addressing the challenges of DMARC implementation with expertise and a focus on client needs, SMX empowers government agencies and organisations to enhance their security posture, protect their brand reputation, and build trust across the supply chain.