E mail identification
Email identification, also known as email authentication, is the process of verifying the authenticity of an email message and its sender. This is important to prevent email spoofing, phishing, and other types of email fraud. Here are some common methods of email identification:
- Sender Policy Framework (SPF): SPF is a protocol that allows domain owners to specify which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of their domain. This helps prevent spammers from sending emails that appear to come from your domain.
- DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM): DKIM is a protocol that uses digital signatures to verify the authenticity of an email message. It allows the recipient's mail server to verify that the email was sent by the claimed sender and that the message has not been tampered with.
- Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC): DMARC is a protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM to provide an additional layer of authentication and reporting. It allows domain owners to specify how they want to handle emails that fail authentication, such as rejecting or quarantining them.
- Authenticating and Authorizing (Auth) protocol: This protocol is used to authenticate the sender of an email message and authorize the recipient's mail server to accept the message.
- OpenPGP: OpenPGP is a protocol that uses public-key cryptography to encrypt and decrypt email messages. It allows the sender to encrypt the message and the recipient to decrypt it using their private key.
- X.509: X.509 is a standard for public key infrastructure (PKI) that is used to authenticate the sender of an email message. It uses digital certificates to verify the identity of the sender.
These are some of the common methods of email identification. By using one or more of these protocols, email providers and organizations can help prevent email fraud and ensure that email messages are delivered securely and reliably.