Email is crucial for business communication but faces increasing cyber threats. To combat phishing and fraud, Microsoft will require strict email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) for Outlook and Hotmail users sending over 5,000 daily emails, starting May 5, 2025. Here's how to comply.

What’s Changing?

Microsoft's New Requirements (Starting May 2025):

• Affects senders sending over 5,000 daily emails
• Must implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols
• Non-compliance risks emails going to spam or being blocked

Industry-Wide Movement:

• Follows similar changes by Google and Yahoo in 2024
• Part of a broader effort to combat email threats
• Creates stronger email security standards

Why This Matters for Your Business

If your business uses email to reach customers, this is a big deal. Ignoring the new email rules could cause all the emails you are sending to Microsoft users to end up in the junk folder, or not get delivered at all. Over time, this can make email providers see you as untrustworthy and affect your reputation.

On the flip side, following these rules does more than just keep you out of the spam box. It makes your business look more trustworthy, and it makes your emails more likely to land in inboxes. Plus, it stops scammers from pretending to be you, which builds trust with your audience and protects your reputation.

What are DMARC, SPF, DKIM & BIMI ?

Email authentication helps protect against spam and fraud by verifying that emails really come from who they claim to be. Here's how it works:

• SPF: This is your guest list. It lists the tools allowed to send emails for your domain. When an email arrives, Outlook checks this list to confirm the sender's legitimacy.
• DKIM: This is your seal of authenticity. It attaches a digital signature to your emails, letting recipients verify that the message hasn't been altered in transit, and it's also proof your email is genuine.
• DMARC: The rule maker. It decides what to do with emails that don't pass earlier checks like SPF or DKIM.
  • Let them go through the inbox
  • Flag them as suspicious and quarantine them (spam folder)
  • Block them completely so they never reach the inbox.
• BIMI: Think of this as your email's verified profile picture. Just like a blue checkmark on social media, it shows your official logo next to your emails in the inbox, making it easy for people to know it's really from your company.

These protocols work together to keep your emails safe. They check that your emails really come from you and haven’t been changed, and they let you decide what to do with the ones that are flagged.

Your Compliance Checklist

Ready to get started? Here’s a simple roadmap to ensure your emails meet Microsoft’s new rules:

1. Audit Your Setup

Check your current email authentication status by using Palisade’s Email Score tool to review your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configurations to get a baseline understanding of your existing setup.

2. Start DMARC setup

Set up DMARC with a policy of p=none to start monitoring your email traffic without disrupting delivery. This will provide insights into how your emails are being authenticated.

Your DMARC record set to none typically looks like this:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:reports@example.com;

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3. Analyze Reports and Wait for a Full Cycle

Wait for a full cycle, meaning the time it takes for all your email-sending applications to send data and analyze the DMARC reports you receive. A full cycle usually last a few days to a few weeks depending on your email volume.

4. Set Up SPF and DKIM Properly

With the data from your DMARC reports, you can now configure SPF and DKIM accurately, ensuring only legitimate emails pass authentication.

• Update your DNS with an SPF record listing only authorized mail servers. Make sure to avoid exceeding the 10 DNS lookup limit, which could cause authentication issues.
• Generate and publish a DKIM key, which will act as your digital signature for your email services, proving their authenticity.

5. Gradually Shift DMARC Policy

Once SPF and DKIM are correctly set up, move your DMARC policy from p=none to p=quarantine (to send suspicious emails to spam), and eventually to p=reject (to block unauthorized emails entirely). Gradually tightening your DMARC policy allows you to monitor and adjust without disrupting legitimate email delivery.

Example of a DMARC policy set to Quarantine:

v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:reports@example.com;

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Example of a DMARC policy set to Reject:

v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:reports@example.com;

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Even if these steps are pretty straightforward, they can still feel technical. That’s where our WorkBench solution, your partner in compliance comes into play by simplifying the whole process with the click of a button, ensuring your business meets Microsoft’s standards without any headaches.

• Easy Setup: We configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for you, tailored to your needs.
• Real-Time Monitoring: Our platform tracks your email performance, delivering clear reports to keep you informed.
• Deliverability Boost: We optimize your settings to maximize inbox placement and security.

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Don’t wait for May 2025 to roll around. Start preparing today to keep your emails flowing smoothly. Sign up for our WorkBench solution to ensure compliance with Microsoft’s new requirements. In a world where every email counts, compliance isn’t just mandatory, it’s your competitive edge.

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