Email Authentication for a Vaughan Smart-Home Integrator
How IT Rapid Support audited a Vaughan smart-home integrator's email authentication and implemented DKIM and DMARC to shut down domain spoofing.
Reviewed by the ITRS security team · Last updated
Engagement details
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
Client | Artistic Smart Homes |
Industry | Smart-home automation and integration |
Location | Vaughan, Ontario |
Services | DNS email security audit, DKIM/DMARC remediation, Microsoft 365 support |
Situation
Artistic Smart Homes designs and installs automation, lighting control and home-theatre systems for residential and commercial clients. Quotes, invoices and supplier coordination all run on email.
The domain's email authentication had gaps. Without DKIM and DMARC in place, a fraudster could send mail that looked like it came from the company, and receiving servers had no published instruction on what to do with it. For a business that sends invoices to homeowners, that is the set-up for a fake-invoice scam.
What we did
Email authentication like this is the main defence against business email compromise.
- Ran a DNS email security audit of the company domain, reviewing the SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
- Presented the findings to the managing team and got sign-off before changing anything.
- Published DKIM signing and a DMARC policy record on the company's Wix-hosted DNS.
- Delivered a remediation report documenting each change and what it protects against.
- Recommended external email warning banners as a next layer, so staff can spot outside senders at a glance.
- Continue to support the team on Microsoft 365 account matters. One example: checking that a Microsoft account deactivation notice was genuine and securing the account before the stated deadline.
Outcome
The domain now publishes DKIM and DMARC, so receiving mail servers can check whether a message claiming to be from the company really is. The engagement is documented from the first audit to the remediation report.
Checking your own domain
You can look up any domain's DMARC record yourself: it is a TXT record at _dmarc.yourdomain.ca. A record ending in p=none only reports on spoofed mail. p=quarantine sends it to junk, and p=reject tells receivers to refuse it. The policy values are defined in RFC 7489.
If you are on Microsoft 365, Microsoft's guides to setting up DKIM and setting up DMARC cover the records. Our email spoof check reads your current records, and rolling out DMARC from p=none to p=reject explains how to tighten the policy without blocking your own invoices.
Related.
- GuideRolling out DMARC from p=none to p=rejectPublishing a DMARC record is easy. Getting to p=reject without blocking your own invoices, newsletters and payroll notices takes an inventory, some careful DNS work and…
- ToolEmail Spoofing Check for Canadian Business DomainsHow to check the three DNS records that stop someone sending email in your name: SPF, DKIM and DMARC, using free public lookup tools or a call with us.
- ArticleIs Your Company Email Easy to Spoof? SPF, DKIM & DMARC ExplainedMost small businesses have never checked whether criminals can send email as their domain. A plain-English guide to SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and how to close the gap.
- IT supportIT Support Vaughan: Helpdesk and On-Site Help from Keele StreetIT support from our own office at 7810 Keele Street. We look after offices, warehouses, clinics and trades firms across Vaughan, with most problems fixed remotely and…
- Case studyLocking Down Email for a Mississauga Development CompanyHow IT Rapid Support moved a Mississauga development company's DMARC policy from monitor-only to enforcement and put a warning banner on every external email.
- Case studyCleaning Up a Microsoft 365 Tenant for a Fire Protection & Security CompanyHow IT Rapid Support audited every Microsoft 365 group for a GTA fire protection company, fixed mail routing, and cut an 82,456-item mailbox by 62%.
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