The Critical Business Consequences of Failing to Implement DMARC

Did it ever cross your mind what happens if your emails never reach your customers?

Or even worse, if someone uses your brand to send harmful emails?

These are exactly the risks businesses have to face if they don’t implement DMARC. 

This authentication protocol helps verify that emails sent under your business name are truly yours. Without it, your brand becomes extremely vulnerable to email fraud and phishing attacks. As a matter of fact, 75% to 91% of cyberattacks are done via email. 

If you fail to set up DMARC on time, you can lose customers, it can have reputational damage and you might even have to face legal trouble. So for that purpose, we’re going to discuss what happens when you don’t use DMARC so you might get aware of the consequences. 

Let’s get into it.

Risks of Not Implementing DMARC

Even today the majority of businesses have not yet implemented DMARC as they don’t feel like it’s necessary or for some other unknown reason. However, the risks of not doing so are:

1. Increased Vulnerability to Cyber Attacks

Without DMARC, cybercriminals can easily impersonate your domain to launch phishing attacks. Phishing emails often trick recipients into sharing their sensitive information like bank details, passwords or personal data. 

These attacks have been on the rise recently with 57% of organizations experiencing phishing attacks on a weekly or daily basis. By not having DMARC authentication in place, you increase the chances of your brand being used for such scams which can harm your customers and business relationships.

2. Brand and Reputational Damage

When unauthorized emails are sent using your domain, the people revising it assume that they’re from you. This can affect your brand in more ways than you can imagine if the emails contain spam, malware, or fraudulent requests.

Majority of consumers only buy something from a brand if they completely trust them. Which is why if your brand becomes associated with such scams, the trust will wear off quickly and it will take years for you to build back that reputation.

3. Poor Email Deliverability

Now email providers like Gmail and Outlook rely on authentication protocols to determine whether an email is legitimate or spam. Without DMARC, your emails will end up in the spam folders or can be rejected altogether. Before, it was particularly easy to send hundreds of emails but now with authentication protocols in place, it’s become almost impossible. 

If you don’t think it plays any role, you might be surprised to know that email deliverability increased for many email providers by 10% after using DMARC. Poor email deliverability can affect everything and reduce engagement and eventually your overall business revenue. 

4. Financial Losses from Fraud

Domain spoofing is one of the oldest tricks in the books of cyberhackers which can cause severe financial consequences. These hackers impersonate a business and send fake invoices, payment requests and phishing links to customers and many people give in causing huge financial losses. 

A report by the FBI concluded that $2.9 billion dollars were lost in 2023 due to business email compromise (BEC) scams. It not only causes your customers to lose payments, but businesses could also face liability if customers or partners sue you for failing to secure your domain.

5. Legal and Compliance Issues

Many industries, such as financial services and healthcare, require business to secure their communications through protocols like DMARC. In Europe there is GDPR and in the U.S. there’s HIPAA which mandates businesses to take powerful security measures to protect sensitive data. 

If the businesses fail to comply with these regulations, they could be fined and a lawsuit could be filed against them. For example, GDPR violations can cost businesses up to 20 million euros or 4% of their global annual revenue depending on which one is higher. 

Even the new Google and Yahoo email requirements include DMARC and other authentication protocols. Without them, the domains might have to face certain compliance challenges. 

6. Missed Insights on Email Performance

DMARC provides detailed reports about who is ending emails on your behalf and whether they are being successfully delivered. These reports offer crucial insights into your email ecosystem, including identifying unauthorized use of your domain.

Without DMARC, you miss out on these valuable data points which leaves you blind to potential issues like unauthorized senders or low email performance. These issues are fixable if you have the right tools and awareness. 

7. Spam Complaints and Blacklisting

Unauthorized emails from your domain can result in spam complaints even if you didn’t send them. If enough complaints are lodged, email providers have to blacklist that particular domain. And if you don’t know, being blacklisted means even legitimate emails will never reach the recipients, not even the spam folders.

It can take anywhere from days or even weeks to get your domain removed from blacklists. However, during all this time, you won’t be able to communicate with customers, vendors and partners from your domain’s emails. 

8. Loss of Trust

Lastly, failure to implement DMARC causes customers to lose trust in your brand completely. According to a survey dating back to 2019, 81% of consumers stop engaging with a brand after a data breach because they expect companies to protect their data at all costs. 

And failure to do so means no more engagement. Losing customers because of loss of trust can significantly impact your business growth and you might never be able to revolver from it. Which is why, you use DMARC and don’t ever get into such a situation.

Reasons Why Companies Resist DMARC Implementation

Despite the various benefits that DMARC offers, many companies resist implementing it due to several issues. These include:

1. Lack of Awareness About Email Threats

There are still many companies that underestimate the risks associated with phishing and DNS spoofing. They assume that standard security measures such as firewalls and anti-virus software are enough to protect their systems. 

And that’s exactly where they’re wrong. Businesses often deprioritize DMARC and then face the consequences to eventually regret their decision. 

2. Think It’s Too Complex

We understand that it requires technical knowledge to set up DMARC properly. It includes domain configurations, SPF (Sender Policy Framework), and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). 

However, it’s not as difficult as it might sound and with the help of the right DMARC provider, like PowerDMARC, it can be done with ease. 

3. Fear of Email Deliverability Issues

Most companies fear that if they incorrectly configured DMARC, even their legitimate emails will end up being rejected or flagged as spam. This is especially a concern for businesses that rely heavily on email marketing, customer service, or partner communications. 

Without the right expertise, companies fear that DMARC may disrupt their operations rather than protect them. 

4. Limited IT Resources

In small or mid-sized companies, IT teams are already stretched thin managing daily operations and other security initiatives.

Implementing and monitoring DMARC policies is a whole different challenge that requires additional effort. It includes troubleshooting, updates, and interpreting reports. As a result, those companies keep DMARC very low on their priority list.

5. Lack of Management Buy-In

Executives often focus more on revenue-generating activities rather than spending much on something that they deem unimportant. 

Without clear support from the leaders, IT teams can’t justify the time and resources needed for its implementation. Thus it becomes a thing that would be considered if something happened in the future. 

6. Cost Associated with Implementation

While DMARC itself is free to implement, companies need to hire experts to manage these email authentication policies. 

These additional costs stop companies from taking any immediate actions as they don’t see any financial returns coming from this particular implementation. 

7. Resistance to Chance

For companies to implement DMARC, they might have to change their existing email infrastructure. This disrupts ongoing workflows which is why teams managing marketing campaigns, transactional emails, or third-party email vendors might resist these changes. 

Because of this organizations often remain stuck to their current systems even if they know DMARC could offer way better protection. 

8. Inconsistent Use of External Email Services

Many companies use multiple third-party email services for marketing, transactional emails, or customer support. To make sure all these companies are complying with DMARC policy is quite a headache which is why it’s often left unnoticed. 

Businesses also fear that adopting DMARC could interfere with external email vendors which could lead to operational complexities. 

9. Misconception That DMARC is Optional

Some businesses view DMARC as a ‘nice-to-have’ rather than a necessity. They believe that they are not large enough or visible enough to be targeted by cyber attackers. This misconception leaves them exposed to cyber risks

And do you want to know something interesting? Attackers often target smaller companies because of their lack of email security or defences. 

Ending Note

Failing to implement DMARC exposes businesses to serious consequences like the ones discussed above. However, even after that many companies resist making the change due to multiple reasons like associated costs, lack of awareness or fear, or email issues. 

While these concerns are valid, the benefits of DMARC far outweigh the risks of not having it. So, make sure to implement DMARC as soon as possible.

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