Questions and answers
2990DMARC Compliance for 3rd party emailing tools
Moving to DMARC Compliance: What It Means for You
The university is moving towards full DMARC compliance to enhance the security of our email domains. We have been working behind the scenes to ensure all our existing systems and applications that send emails have the correct security settings. Starting in February, any emails sent from applications without the correct settings are not guaranteed to reach their recipients.
If you intend to start using a new 3rd party applications to send mail from a Sussex address, will need to liaise with ITS to ensure the correct settings are in place so that emails reach their intended destination.
What is DMARC?
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance. It is an email security protocol that ensures emails sent from our domain are legitimate and not spoofed. DMARC works with two other protocols:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Ensures that email is sent from authorized servers.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to prove the email has not been tampered with.
With DMARC, we can verify if emails claiming to be from the University are truly sent by us.
Ensuring that emails are DMARC compliant prevents email spoofing and therefore protects the University’s domain from being misused for phishing or spam. It ensures that recipients (students, staff, and external partners) can trust emails coming from us and aligns with best practices. Most organizations worldwide are implementing DMARC to improve email security.
How can you use 3rd party emailing tools?
Before using 3rd party emailing tools to send from our sussex.ac.uk domain you will need to provide the DKIM and SPF entries for your email tool. These details are typically available on the providers support website. If you’re unsure, you can contact their customer support team for help.
How ITS Can Help?
We understand these changes may feel technical, but we can assist with finding SPF and DKIM details, helping to reach out and communicate with customer support and general advice regarding DMARC and email compliance.
Please reach out to the ITS team. We’ll work with you to ensure it is set up correctly so your emails continue to be delivered reliably.
Q: Why are we implementing DMARC?
A: DMARC helps protect the University’s email systems from abuse, such as phishing attacks, and improves trust in our communications.
Q: What happens if a tool isn’t DMARC compliant?
A: Emails sent from non-compliant tools may be marked as spam or not delivered at all. This is why providing SPF and DKIM information is critical.
Q: How do I find SPF and DKIM information?
A: Most third-party tools provide SPF and DKIM settings in their documentation or support portal. If you can’t locate these, contact the tool’s support team.
Q: Who should I contact for help?
A: Reach out to the ITS team for any questions or support regarding DMARC, SPF, DKIM, or email tools.
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