Managing spam emails is a significant challenge for large organizations and platforms, affecting both users and the teams responsible for managing email systems. Spam disrupts inboxes and can expose users to phishing attacks, potentially compromising personal or company data. In response, major email platforms like Gmail, Microsoft 365, and Yahoo! have recently made their spam filters more aggressive to better block unwanted emails. This change requires senders to take steps to automatically validate their messages to ensure they are trusted and legitimate.
To help address this issue, we set up DMARC and DKIM records for the messages@ufhealth.org email address. These records help email platforms automatically verify that the email is coming from a trusted source, making it more likely to reach the inbox.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is a DNS record that helps authenticate an email as coming from a legitimate source and not from a known phishing or spoofing source.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a method email platforms use to verify that the message was authorized by the domain owner, serving as a digital signature for the email.
In conclusion, we’ve implemented two methods—DMARC and DKIM—to help email platforms confirm that the messages@ufhealth.org email address is a trusted sender. A helpful metaphor for this process is to think of the inbox as someone’s home. When sending an email (the “workman”), the email platform (the “homeowner”) needs to verify the sender’s identity before allowing the email in. DMARC and DKIM act as two forms of ID that prove the email was sent by a trusted source, allowing the email to “enter” the inbox and be delivered successfully.