By lakshmi.prasath DMARC

What to read in DMARC reports (RUA &RUF)

DMARC reports provide valuable insights into email traffic and authentication status. 

These reports come in two types: Aggregate (RUA) and Forensic (RUF) reports. Aggregate reports offer a high-level overview of email traffic sources, authentication results, and policy actions taken by receiving servers. On the other hand, Forensic reports provide detailed information about individual email messages, including headers, body, and authentication results.

However. DMARC reports are delivered in XML format, which can be challenging to interpret manually. This is where the ProDMARC tool come in action. ProDMARC simplifies the process by coverting the XML data and presenting it in a user-friendly and in a readable format.

What can you read in the DMARC aggregate report (RUA):

  1. Email Sources: You can see where your emails sent on behalf of your “particular” domain are coming from, including legitimate sources and potential unauthorized senders. These reports are sent by email receivers to the specified reporting email address (specified in the DMARC policy) in XML format.
  1. Authentication Results: The report shows whether your emails passed or failed DMARC authentication, helping you identify any spoofed or fraudulent messages or failures of your authorized senders. 

DMARC Authentication is based on two key email authentication protocols i.e., SPF and DKIM. Additionally, SPF verifies if the email sender’s IP address is authorized to send emails for your domain and DKIM cryptographically signs emails, ensuring they haven’t been tampered with in transit.

Visit link for “A guide to best practices for Sender Policy Frameworks (SPF)”

Visit link to know “The importance of DKIM in email authentication and passing DMARC?” 

  1. Policy Applied: It indicates the actions taken by receiving email servers based on your DMARC policy, such as accepting, quarantining, or rejecting emails that fail authentication. 

To know more about implementation of policies visit  “How DMARC work?”

  1. Alignment Results: DMARC also checks alignment between the domain in the email’s From header and the domains used in SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) signatures, providing insights into potential spoofing attempts.

Analyzing these elements in the aggregate report allows you to understand your email security status better and make improvements where needed to enhance it.

What can you read in the DMARC Forensic report (RUA):

In the DMARC Forensic (RUF) report, you can access detailed information about individual email messages. This includes the email’s headers, bsody content, and authentication results. These insights help you investigate specific instances of authentication failures and potential spoofing attempts, allowing you to take targeted actions to mitigate risks and improve your email security posture.

Further please refer to the list of information that we can read or obtain in the Forensic report.

  1. Message Headers: The header information of the email, including sender, recipient, and subject.
  2. Message Body: The content of the email that failed DMARC authentication.
  3. Authentication Results: Details on how the email authentication checks failed, including SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) results.
  4. Timestamps: Timestamps related to when the email was received, processed, and failed DMARC authentication.
  5. Authentication Methods: Information on which authentication methods (SPF, DKIM) passed or failed.
  6. Authentication Domains: Domains involved in the authentication process, including the sending domain, the domains of SPF records, and DKIM signatures.
  7. IP Addresses: The IP address of the sending server and other relevant IP addresses involved in the email transmission.
  8. Message Size: Size of the message that failed DMARC authentication.
  9. Failure Reason: A description of why the message failed DMARC authentication, including any discrepancies in SPF, DKIM, or alignment checks.
  10. Feedback Loop Metadata: Information about the feedback loop itself, such as the reporting organization’s information and the report format.

By analysing these reports regularly, organizations can fine-tune their email authentication policies and mitigate phishing and spoofing attacks effectively. 

Additionally, DMARC monitoring helps in identifying unauthorized use of domain names and ensuring compliance with email security standards.

Take control of your email security posture with ProDMARC’s easy-to-understand reporting. Identify and address email authentication issues quickly. Request a ProDMARC demo here or call us at 9820116312 Today!

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