Yet another IT acronym: “DMARC”
DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance.
It’s an email authentication protocol that helps protect your domain from being used in email spoofing, phishing attacks, and other cyber threats.
Understanding DMARC: Caller ID for Your Email
DMARC works like caller ID for your company’s email. It helps email providers verify that messages claiming to come from your domain are genuinely from approved systems – not scammers impersonating you. When a message can’t be verified, DMARC tells the provider what to do: quarantine it, reject it, or let it through with monitoring.
This reduces phishing attacks and brand impersonation, helping your customers and partners trust your communications.
Without DMARC, fraudsters can easily send emails that appear to come from your organisation – damaging your reputation, scamming your customers, and undermining trust in your legitimate communications.
Kinetics and Sendmarc are keeping Kiwi organisations protected as DMARC evolves
Kinetics has worked with Sendmarc are continuing our partnership to help New Zealand organisations reduce email fraud and protect their brands. Part of doing that well is staying on top of changes to industry standards.
One of the biggest updates on the horizon is DMARCbis, sometimes described as “DMARC 2.0.” It is a refresh of the DMARC standard being developed through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
What’s Changing: DMARCbis Explained
One of the most significant updates coming is DMARCbis – sometimes called “DMARC 2.0.” It’s a modernised version of the DMARC standard being developed through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Think of DMARCbis as an updated, clearer rulebook – refined by more than a decade of real-world experience.
According to Sendmarc’s DMARCbis overview, the update is designed to:
- Improve reporting – giving you clearer visibility into what’s happening with your email
- Clarify the rules – so DMARC is applied more consistently and predictably
- Better define domain boundaries – enhancing accuracy for complex infrastructures
The Good News: No Need to Panic
DMARCbis is designed to work with what most organisations already have in place. It still uses v=DMARC1, which means if you already have a DMARC record, you don’t need to rush into changes just because DMARCbis is on the horizon.
The standard is progressing through the IETF publication process, and while exact timing can vary, the direction is clear. This gives organisations time to prepare properly rather than scramble at the last minute.
How Kinetics and Sendmarc Keep You Protected
Kinetics and Sendmarc are continuing our partnership to help New Zealand organisations reduce email fraud and safeguard their brands. A crucial part of doing that well is staying ahead of changes to industry standards.
“Email trust is critical for every organisation,” says Andrew Hunt, CEO at Kinetics. “Our focus is on making security practical and achievable for Kiwi businesses, and our ongoing partnership with Sendmarc helps us do exactly that, especially as DMARC evolves.”
Kinetics will continue providing DMARC as a core security service, and we’ll keep guiding customers as standards develop. Most importantly, Sendmarc has confirmed that its platform will support DMARCbis as soon as the standard is finalised – meaning our customers can adopt the update smoothly when it becomes available.