Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) represents the final piece in modern email authentication. For healthcare organizations already using SPF and DKIM, DMARC provides enforcement policies and detailed reporting that help prevent email spoofing and protect patient communications.
Go deeper: How to set up DKIM and SPF records
Why healthcare organizations need DMARC
DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM by adding clear policies for handling authentication failures. This protection becomes increasingly vital as healthcare organizations face sophisticated phishing attacks targeting patient data.
A study about phishing attacks in healthcare organizations states that as of 2016, “more than 70,000 patients had been documented as affected by at least 10 phishing attacks on US Healthcare institutions, and this threat will only increase globally with both increasing volume and scope of digitisation of health information and the potential value of such data for generic crimes such as identify theft and specifically for health data, targeted blackmail, payroll and payer fraud or as a route to ransomware attacks”.
DMARC not only helps prevent unauthorized use of healthcare domains but also provides valuable insights into email security through comprehensive reporting.
How DMARC works
Policy enforcement
DMARC allows healthcare organizations to specify how receiving servers should handle emails that fail authentication. Organizations can choose to monitor, quarantine, or reject suspicious emails. This control helps prevent unauthorized use of healthcare domains while ensuring legitimate communications reach their intended recipients.
Reporting mechanisms
DMARC provides detailed reports about email authentication results, including information about all messages sent using your domain. These reports help organizations identify potential security issues and unauthorized attempts to use their domain for malicious purposes.
Implementation guidelines
Policy stages
DMARC implementation typically follows three stages. Organizations start with a monitoring policy to understand their email flow, progress to quarantine suspicious emails, and finally move to rejection for full protection. This gradual approach helps prevent disruption to legitimate healthcare communications.
Alignment requirements
For DMARC to work properly, the domain in the "From" address that patients see must match the domain verified by SPF or DKIM. Think of it as checking that the return address on a letter matches the post office's records of where it was actually mailed from. Without this alignment, even legitimate healthcare emails might fail DMARC checks.
FAQs
How does DMARC complement SPF and DKIM?
DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM by providing clear handling instructions for authentication failures and delivering detailed reporting about email security.
What DMARC policy should healthcare organizations start with?
Organizations should begin with a monitoring policy to understand their email authentication patterns before implementing stricter policies.
What are the signs of a successful DMARC implementation?
Success indicators include high authentication pass rates, decreased spoofing attempts, and maintained delivery of legitimate healthcare communications.
