{"id":3324,"date":"2025-09-24T21:53:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T21:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3324"},"modified":"2025-09-25T13:04:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T13:04:04","slug":"the-email-security-trio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/the-email-security-trio\/","title":{"rendered":"DMARC, SPF &amp; DKIM: The Email Security Trio Your Business Can\u2019t Ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-hero alignfull stk-block-hero stk-block stk-f4f1ef0 stk-block-background is-style-horizontal\" data-v=\"2\" data-block-id=\"f4f1ef0\"><style>.stk-f4f1ef0 {background-color:#FFFFFF !important;padding-top:0px !important;padding-right:0px !important;padding-bottom:0px !important;padding-left:0px !important;}.stk-f4f1ef0:before{background-color:#FFFFFF !important;}.stk-f4f1ef0 .stk-block-hero__content{min-height:500px !important;align-items:center !important;display:flex !important;}<\/style><div class=\"stk-block-hero__content stk-content-align stk-f4f1ef0-column alignfull stk-container stk-f4f1ef0-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-f4f1ef0-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-632c25d\" data-block-id=\"632c25d\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-632c25d-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-724a147\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"724a147\"><style>.stk-724a147-container{margin-top:0px !important;margin-right:0px !important;margin-bottom:0px !important;margin-left:0px !important;min-height:var(--stk--preset--block-height--none, 0px) !important;}.stk-724a147 {align-self:center !important;}@media screen and (min-width:690px){.stk-724a147 {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(47% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 1 \/ 2 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-724a147-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"has-text-align-center stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-724a147-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-image stk-block-image stk-block stk-9826039\" data-block-id=\"9826039\"><style>.stk-9826039 .stk-img-wrapper{width:100% !important;height:421px !important;}.stk-9826039 .stk-img-wrapper img{object-fit:fill !important;}<\/style><figure><span class=\"stk-img-wrapper stk-image--shape-stretch\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"stk-img wp-image-3406\" src=\"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dmarc_post_image_landscape.png\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"DMARC Benefits\" srcset=\"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dmarc_post_image_landscape.png 1536w, https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/dmarc_post_image_landscape-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/span><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-f000562\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"f000562\"><style>.stk-f000562-container{margin-top:32px !important;margin-right:32px !important;margin-bottom:32px !important;margin-left:32px !important;}.stk-f000562-inner-blocks{justify-content:center !important;}@media screen and (min-width:690px){.stk-f000562 {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 calc(53% - var(--stk-column-gap, 0px) * 1 \/ 2 ) !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-f000562-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"has-text-align-left stk--column-flex stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-f000562-inner-blocks\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">T<strong>he Hidden Risk in Your Inbox<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-aa966c3\" data-block-id=\"aa966c3\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Email security is not a joke&#8230; Imagine sending out a proposal\u2026 but your client never sees it.<br>Worse, a hacker sends emails pretending to be you\u2014and your domain gets blacklisted. \ud83d\ude2c<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This happens more often than you think. But it\u2019s preventable with three email records: DMARC, SPF, and DKIM. <mark class=\"rank-math-highlight\" style=\"background-color: #fee894\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cloudflare.com\/learning\/dns\/dns-records\/dns-dmarc-record\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Implementing DMARC<\/a> can significantly enhance your email security and help protect your domain from phishing attacks and other cyber threats, ensuring your email security remains intact<\/mark>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These aren\u2019t just technical acronyms. They\u2019re the foundation of a secure, professional business email system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-button-group stk-block-button-group stk-block stk-e080740\" data-block-id=\"e080740\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks has-text-align-center stk-block-content stk-button-group\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-button stk-block-button has-text-align-center is-style-ghost stk-block stk-f5e55d0\" data-block-id=\"f5e55d0\"><style>.stk-f5e55d0 .stk-button{background:transparent !important;}.stk-f5e55d0 .stk-button:hover:after{background:transparent !important;opacity:1 !important;}:where(.stk-hover-parent:hover,  .stk-hover-parent.stk--is-hovered) .stk-f5e55d0 .stk-button:after{background:transparent !important;opacity:1 !important;}.stk-f5e55d0 .stk-button:before{border-style:solid !important;}<\/style><a class=\"stk-link stk-button stk--hover-effect-darken\" href=\"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/it-support\/health-check\/\" title=\"Free 15-minute IT Health Check\"><span class=\"stk-button__inner-text\">Need Help Securing Your Domain?  \ud83d\udc49 Book a free consultation now<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Are DMARC, SPF &amp; DKIM records?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s a simple breakdown:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-995f960e wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-e36a593\" data-block-id=\"e36a593\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-e36a593-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-5085e68\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"5085e68\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-5085e68-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-5085e68-inner-blocks\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-palette-color-4-color has-text-color has-link-color has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Record<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>What It Does<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>SPF<\/strong> record (Sender Policy Framework)<\/td><td>Says who\u2019s allowed to send emails on your domain\u2019s behalf.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>DKIM<\/strong> record (Domainkeys Identified Mail)<\/td><td>Adds a digital signature to prove the message wasn\u2019t tampered with.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>DMARC<\/strong> record (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)<\/td><td>Tells inboxes how to handle failed SPF\/DKIM checks, and sends reports back to you.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-0728e99\" data-block-id=\"0728e99\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-0728e99-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-0fbe7ab\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"0fbe7ab\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-0fbe7ab-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-0fbe7ab-inner-blocks\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns alignfull stk-block-columns stk-block stk-1e6e067\" data-block-id=\"1e6e067\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-1e6e067-column alignwide\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-04204f6\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"04204f6\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-04204f6-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-04204f6-inner-blocks\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2709\ufe0f Why This Matters for Your Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-47e6910\" data-block-id=\"47e6910\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-47e6910-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-875354a\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"875354a\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-875354a-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-875354a-inner-blocks\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-palette-color-3-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-1\">\n<li>Prevents Email Spoofing: Scammers can\u2019t impersonate your domain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improves Deliverability: More of your legit emails reach inboxes, not spam.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduces Risk of Blacklisting: Email providers trust your domain more.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gives You Visibility: DMARC reports show who\u2019s trying to abuse your domain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-9e15e04\" data-block-id=\"9e15e04\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udeab<\/strong> What Happens If You Skip It?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-32c15dc\" data-block-id=\"32c15dc\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-32c15dc-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-1521694\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"1521694\"><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-1521694-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-1521694-inner-blocks\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-palette-color-4-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-2\">\n<li class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Customers may receive phishing emails from your domain (yes, really).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your emails might silently go to spam or get rejected.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You lose trust, leads, and possibly revenue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-27b4585\" data-block-id=\"27b4585\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udee0\ufe0f How to Set It Up (In Simple Terms)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Check your domain DNS<\/strong> (you\u2019ll need access to your registrar like GoDaddy, IONOS, Cloudflare).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add an SPF record<\/strong> listing approved sending sources (e.g., Gmail, Microsoft 365, Mailchimp).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enable DKIM signing<\/strong> in your mail provider (it usually generates keys automatically).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Set up a DMARC policy<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Start with p=none (just monitor),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then move to p=quarantine or p=reject once you confirm it\u2019s working.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use tools like DMARCian or MXToolbox<\/strong> to verify everything is in place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Need help? ACA Tech Solutions can configure it all for you in minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-b3d58c9\" data-block-id=\"b3d58c9\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udcc8 Real Impact: A Client Example<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A recent client was losing 30% of email leads because messages were hitting spam filters. After we implemented SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly, they saw:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>42% increase in open rates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>0 spoofing attempts reported in 30 days<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased trust from Gmail and Outlook servers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-bff97df\" data-block-id=\"bff97df\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u2705 Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email is one of your most powerful tools\u2014but only if it works <strong>as expected<\/strong>. These three simple DNS records could be the difference between landing a sale or losing it to spam folders and scammers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-divider stk-block-divider stk-block stk-18197b5\" data-block-id=\"18197b5\"><hr class=\"stk-block-divider__hr\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udca1 Need Help Securing Your Domain?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\">ACA Tech Solutions<\/a> offers expert email security setup, including DMARC, SPF, and DKIM, with ongoing monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/it-support\/health-check\/\">Book a free consultation now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Hidden Risk in Your Inbox Email security is not a joke&#8230; Imagine sending out a proposal\u2026 but your client never sees it.Worse, a hacker sends emails pretending to be you\u2014and your domain gets blacklisted. \ud83d\ude2c This happens more often than you think. But it\u2019s preventable with three email records: DMARC, SPF, and DKIM. Implementing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,17,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-get_basics_right","category-email-security","category-information_technology","category-series"],"blocksy_meta":{"page_structure_type":"type-1","styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3324"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3438,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3324\/revisions\/3438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acatechsolutions.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}