Overview#
Protocols that verify sender legitimacy such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Reduces spoofing, improves deliverability, and supports phishing defenses.
Core objectives#
- Establish shared definitions of Email Authentication for security, engineering, and leadership teams.
- Connect Email Authentication activities to measurable risk reduction and resilience goals.
- Provide onboarding notes so new team members can quickly understand how Email Authentication works here.
Implementation notes#
- Identify the primary owner for Email Authentication, the data sources involved, and the systems affected.
- Document the minimum viable process, tooling, and runbooks that keep Email Authentication healthy.
- Map Email Authentication practices to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, or CIS Controls.
Operational signals#
- Leading indicators: early warnings that Email Authentication might degrade (e.g., backlog growth, noisy alerts, or missed SLAs).
- Lagging indicators: realized impact that shows Email Authentication failed or needs investment (e.g., incidents, audit findings).
- Feedback loops: retrospectives and metrics reviews that tune Email Authentication continuously.
Related practices#
- Align Email Authentication with defense-in-depth planning, threat modeling, and disaster recovery tests.
- Communicate updates to stakeholders through concise briefs, dashboards, and internal FAQs.
- Pair Email Authentication improvements with tabletop exercises to validate expectations.