What are the 5 Common DKIM Security Threats? How to Create and Validate a DKIM Record to Protect you

Having email authentication implemented safeguards your money and sensitive data. If you don’t have email protocols like DKIM configured on your email systems, you are putting your brand at risk. We will take a look at five common security threats you will potentially face if you don’t have DKIM configured. However, before we get to that, let’s understand the purpose and working of DKIM.

What is DKIM?

DKIM or DomainKeys Identified Mail is an anti-tamper protocol that secures your emails while in transit. It uses digital signatures to confirm whether the email was sent by an authentic domain.

The first DKIM action occurs on the server that sends a DKIM signed email, while the second takes place on the recipient server that checks DKIM signatures on incoming emails. The entire process is made possible by a pair of private and public keys.

The private key is saved either on your own server or with your ESP. The public key, on the other hand, is added to the DNS records of your domain to broadcast to the world and help verify your emails. This is done by providing a digital signature for the email. Once the receiver verifies that an email is signed with a valid DKIM signature, it’s clear that the integrity of the email is preserved.

Five common security threats to email systems are:

• Phishing

The process of stealing sensitive data including but not limited to credit card details, usernames, and passwords by impersonating a trustworthy brand or individual is called phishing. It is a dangerous category of cybercrime and has variables like spear phishing, smishing, whaling, etc. Phishing leads to financial losses and data theft, making it extremely important for companies to have email security measures in place to fight it.

• Unsolicited Spam

The process of sending bulk, commercial email messages is called spam. These emails are unsolicited and unwarranted. They are a big threat to email security since the majority of cyberattacks are intended to spam innocent individuals with phishing emails. Email systems that get compromised are used to deliver spam emails and organize phishing attacks.

• Email Spoofing

Attackers use spoofing to make fake emails look like they originated from a trustworthy source to deceive users and steal them of their money and data. Core authentication protocols can’t identify the sender; thus, hapless victims fall prey to spoofing. The objective is to get the victim to open the email and respond to the solicitation, which will install ransomware and demand for money and data.

• Insider Threat

Recent events have shown that companies face security threats from inside the organization as well. A rogue employee could steal data or leak sensitive information to damage the organization’s reputation. A careless insider threat arises when an employee unknowingly bypasses security measures. It is thereby extremely necessary to make employees understand security policies and mailing rules.

• Malware

Malicious software or malware is a rogue computer program with the sole objective of infecting a PC. Malware can be installed as a result of an accident or deliberately by an attacker. Viruses, Trojans, spyware, and ransomware are all types of malware. Attackers often install ransomware remotely on a victim’s computer to erase or encrypt data and demand ransom in exchange. Weak email security measures can lead to deadly ransomware attacks.

These are some of the most common security threats you may face in the absence of protocols such as DKIM. So what should you do about it? The answer is fairly simple. Implement DKIM, SPF, and DMARC immediately.

The steps to implement DKIM to protect your brand from phishing attacks are:

1. Generate a public domain key for the concerned domain.

After you have decided the list of domains that you want to implement DKIM for, create a public key for the concerned domain. A selector name will have to be specified for your key pairs. It acts like a map for the receiving email server.

2.Add the public key to the DNS entries for that domain.

This key can be used by email servers to validate DKIM signatures in your messages. After you have created the key, you will need to add the pair of keys to your DNS for the selected domains. It will be a TXT record with some value. These changes will take a day or two to reflect.

3.To begin applying a DKIM signature to all outgoing messages, enable DKIM signing.

After completing steps 1 and 2 correctly, enable DKIM signing on all outbound emails for your domain. You can also test your DKIM setup by sending a test email or using EmailAuth’s free DKIM record lookup tool.

You have now successfully configured DKIM for your domain. To learn more about DMARC, DKIM, and SPF, head to https://emailauth.io/

Original Source :- https://justpaste.it/5-Common-DKIM-Security-Threats

This blog is related to Secure you domains and emails.