DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an essential tool for protecting your organization from email-based threats like phishing and spoofing. One of its most useful features is the ability to generate forensic reports, which provide detailed information about failed email authentication attempts. These reports give security teams valuable insights to identify issues and address potential risks before they lead to bigger problems, such as data breaches.
However, many organizations face the frustration of not receiving these forensic reports, even after setting up DMARC correctly. Without these reports, it’s harder to spot weaknesses in your email security and take action in time.
In this blog, we’ll dive into some of the common reasons why you might not be receiving DMARC forensic reports and how to fix these issues. Understanding these challenges will help you make the most of your DMARC implementation and ensure you’re getting the feedback needed to protect your email systems effectively.
What Are DMARC Forensic Reports?
Before we dive into the potential issues, let’s clarify what forensic reports are. Forensic reports are generated when an email fails the DMARC authentication checks, and they offer detailed information about the failed message. These reports typically include:
- The source IP address of the email sender.
- Authentication failures, including issues with SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail).
- Message headers, which provide insight into why the email failed the DMARC check.
- The action taken by the receiving server (whether the email was rejected, quarantined, or allowed).
Forensic reports are useful for investigating why legitimate emails are being flagged as suspicious or why unauthorized senders are able to impersonate your domain. However, you need to ensure that your setup is correct to start receiving them.
Common Reasons Why You Aren’t Receiving DMARC Forensic Reports
1. Forensic Reporting Not Enabled in DMARC Policy
The most common reason for not receiving forensic reports is that forensic reporting has not been enabled in the DMARC record. While DMARC’s aggregate reports (which provide general data on authentication results) are enabled by default, forensic reports require a separate configuration.
How to Fix It: Ensure that the ruf tag (Reporting URI for Forensic Reports) is included in your DMARC policy. This tag specifies the email address where forensic reports should be sent.
Here’s an example of a properly configured DMARC record with forensic reporting enabled:
v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:aggregate-reports@progist.net; ruf=mailto:forensic-reports@progist.net; fo=1
Without the ruf tag, forensic reports won’t be sent to your specified address.
Click here to learn more about DMARC Tags.
2. Incorrect or Invalid Forensic Reporting Email Address
If the email address listed in the ruf tag is incorrect, or if it’s an address that isn’t monitored, you won’t receive any forensic reports. This is a common issue, especially if there’s a typo or the email address is no longer active.
How to Fix It: Check the email address specified in your DMARC record for forensic reports. Make sure it is a valid, accessible email address that’s regularly checked by your security team.
3. Reporting Provider Doesn’t Support Forensic Reports
Not all email service providers or receivers support DMARC forensic reporting, and some might disable it altogether, citing concerns over privacy or server load. While DMARC aggregate reports are widely supported, forensic reports are not always prioritized by third-party mail servers or service providers.
4. Privacy Concerns and Regulations
In some regions, privacy laws such as GDPR in Europe can limit the sending of forensic reports. This is because forensic reports can contain sensitive information, like message headers, that might inadvertently expose user data. As a result, some email providers may block or redact forensic reports to comply with these regulations.
5. Misconfigured DMARC Record
A misconfigured DMARC record is another potential reason why forensic reports aren’t being received. If there are syntax errors or missing components in your DMARC record, it can cause the forensic reporting to fail.
How to Fix It: Use an online DMARC record checker to validate your DMARC record or contact us. Make sure it contains the necessary tags (v, p, rua, and ruf) and is formatted correctly.
A common mistake is leaving out the ruf tag entirely or failing to specify the correct reporting URI.
Example of a properly configured DMARC record:
v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:aggregate-reports@progist.net; ruf=mailto:forensic-reports@progist.net; fo=1;
This configuration ensures that both aggregate and forensic reports are sent to the appropriate addresses.
6. Spam or Filtering Issues
If you have added organization’s email ID (i.e., rua@companydomain.com & ruf@companydomain.com) in the RUA and RUF tags then in some cases, forensic reports might be delivered to the spam or junk folder of your inbox, or they could be blocked by aggressive filtering systems. Since forensic reports contain detailed technical data, some email providers may flag them as spam.
Receiving DMARC forensic reports is critical for understanding how your email security measures are performing and identifying potential vulnerabilities in your system. However, there are several reasons why these reports might not be coming through, including misconfigurations, privacy concerns, or service provider limitations.
By carefully reviewing your DMARC setup, ensuring that forensic reporting is enabled, and addressing any potential issues like incorrect email addresses or filtering, you can start receiving these valuable reports and gain deeper insights into your email security.
If you’re still experiencing issues or to avoid DMARC misconfigurations for organization mailing domain, contact us today at +91-9820116312 or book a demo to learn more about how our DMARC tool can safeguard your domain and enhance your email security posture.