One email protocol that you can trust to do it all— from authenticating your emails to preventing cyber crooks from impersonating your domain—is DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance).

Let’s face it: Cyberattacks are pretty rampant these days, and it is not uncommon for hackers to send emails that look very familiar (almost indistinguishable) to what you’d expect from a trusted source—your boss, your bank, or even your own company’s IT team. We wish we could eliminate this problem from its roots, but these cybercriminals are constantly finding new ways to trick people.

But there’s a way to tackle this problem or at least mitigate it significantly. With DMARC, you can take control of your domain’s email security. It helps ensure that only legitimate emails sent from your domain are delivered while blocking or flagging fraudulent ones.

So how does this authentication protocol work to prevent phishing attacks, particularly the ones that are very targeted, like spear phishing? In this article, we will take a look at how DMARC helps stop spear phishing attacks, how it works, and why it is essential for businesses and individuals. We’ll dig deeper into what spear phishing is, how it works, and how DMARC can help you mitigate the risk of these attacks.

What is spear phishing?

In this type of attack, attackers take their time to research their victims—they look into your social media, employment information, or company website to make the email appear legitimate. It may appear to be from your boss, a colleague, or a service you’re using, making it even more difficult to detect.

These scams can cause serious damage, such as stealing funds, leaking confidential company information, or even hijacking accounts. Since the emails appear so real, even the most cautious individuals might get tricked. That is why robust security protocols, such as DMARC, are necessary to prevent these attacks before they even reach your mailbox.

How do these attacks work?

As you know, spear phishing attacks are highly targeted, and they particularly focus on high profile individuals like CEOs, executives, or IT administrators of the company. To pull off such attacks, these attackers need to be thorough with every detail about their target.

First, they collect information about their target from social media accounts, company websites, and other public platforms. Once they have sufficient data, they craft a personalized message based on that information to make it look like it’s from a trusted source, such as a colleague, a senior executive, or even an official organization.

The email typically includes an urgent request, a phony invoice, or a malicious link. When the target clicks on the link or opens an attachment, it can result in stolen credentials, malware infection, or unauthorized access to company systems.

Let’s dig deeper into the techniques that are used to execute these attacks:

●     Social engineering in spear phishing attacks

Social engineering in spear phishing is all about manipulating individuals into making mistakes. Hackers don’t hack into systems—they get you to give it to them yourself. They send you emails that appear legitimate, usually impersonating someone you trust, such as your boss or a co-worker.

For instance, you might receive a message that appears to be from your CEO requesting you to forward confidential documents or provide login credentials. Since it is perceived as urgent and critical, you might not hesitate to reply.

Sometimes, you might also receive a malicious link in such emails. You might think that this link is like any other link of, let’s say, a login page, but as soon as you enter your login details into it, your account might get hacked. Or, when you open the attachment, it downloads malware onto your system.

●     Reconnaissance in spear phishing

Hackers don’t simply send out random phishing emails—they do their homework first. This is called reconnaissance, or “recon.” It’s essentially the research that they use to learn about the person they’re targeting before they strike. It’s just like how ethical hackers perform recon to test security; cybercriminals use it to find weak spots and make their phishing emails more convincing.

They begin by gathering basic information like names, position titles, and emails of their targets, and then they dig deeper—checking company websites, social media profiles, and even figuring out what software or systems the company uses. While doing this, they also scan for open ports, network access points, and running services.

They then use all of this accumulated information to craft very convincing emails, which means that it significantly increases the chances of their potential victim falling into the trap, clicking on a harmful link, or divulging sensitive information.

How does DMARC help combat spear phishing attacks?

DMARC ensures that only authentic emails from your domain end up in people’s mailboxes, and it blocks or flags the ones that seem fishy. It does this through the use of two security tests—SPF and DKIM. If an email fails one of these tests, DMARC takes action on it—it either labels it as spam, rejects it outright, or lets it through to be monitored.

This is really important when it comes to preventing spear phishing because hackers might use your domain to send fraudulent emails on your behalf.

Without DMARC, a phisher can send an email from your CEO or IT department that appears legitimate and gets employees to leak sensitive data. But with DMARC implemented, these spoofed emails get flagged or blocked before they even reach anyone’s mailbox, making it significantly more difficult for attackers to get through.

Did you like what you just read?

Hi, I’m Daksh Kaur, a freelance writer. I make cybersecurity a breeze for your clients by breaking down complex concepts into simple ones so that they can understand the risks and take proactive steps to make digital security a priority.

You can get in touch with me at daksh@turtlewords.com and explore how we can work together to create insightful and engaging content that converts.