Only Half of All Fortune 500 are Bolstering Email Security

Only Half of All Fortune 500 are Bolstering Email Security

Agari’s data shows that 51 percent of the Fortune 500, the world’s wealthiest companies, are using DMARC, an improvement from about one-third of them a year ago.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • Nov 02, 2018

Just half of Fortune 500 companies have installed DMARC, a tool that guards against email phishing scams, according to new data from Agari.

Email systems use DMARC—domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance policy—to verify the identity of an email sender to help protect against email phishing scams. Depending on the DMARC settings, an email system can monitor, quarantine or reject emails trying to impersonate another domain.

Agari’s data shows that 51 percent of the Fortune 500, the world’s wealthiest companies, are using DMARC, an improvement from about one-third of them a year ago. Only 13 of these companies have their DMARC capabilities set to mark spoofed emails as spam or reject them from inboxes.

Among the companies with the strongest DMARC policies were Aetna, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Facebook, Fedex, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal, UPS and Wells Fargo. Among the worst, according to Agari, were Boeing, CBS, Discovery, Exxon Mobil, Frontier, JetBlue, NetApp, Time Warner Cable (Spectrum), Prudential, Viacom and Xerox.

Phishers often try to trick companies or other people into sending back sensitive information or secret corporate details by imitating trusted email domains. DMARC is designed to weed out most of those spoofed emails.

According to Agari, one of its customers was receiving millions of emails a day that were imitating the company’s own “from” domain. After the company implemented its new DMARC policy, set to rejected spoofed emails, the number of spoofed emails decreased by 99 percent.

“The damage from these attacks has ballooned into billions of dollars annually—however the real cost is the erosion of trust in digital business,” Agari’s Armen Najarian said.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Empowering and Securing a Mobile Workforce

    What happens when technology lets you work anywhere – but exposes you to security threats everywhere? This is the reality of modern work. No longer tethered to desks, work happens everywhere – in the office, from home, on the road, and in countless locations in between. Read Now

  • TSA Introduces New $45 Fee Option for Travelers Without REAL ID Starting February 1

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that it will refer all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still want to fly an option to pay a $45 fee to use a modernized alternative identity verification system, TSA Confirm.ID, to establish identity at security checkpoints beginning on February 1, 2026. Read Now

  • The Evolution of IP Camera Intelligence

    As the 30th anniversary of the IP camera approaches in 2026, it is worth reflecting on how far we have come. The first network camera, launched in 1996, delivered one frame every 17 seconds—not impressive by today’s standards, but groundbreaking at the time. It did something that no analog system could: transmit video over a standard IP network. Read Now

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

  • Cost: Reactive vs. Proactive Security

    Security breaches often happen despite the availability of tools to prevent them. To combat this problem, the industry is shifting from reactive correction to proactive protection. This article will examine why so many security leaders have realized they must “lead before the breach” – not after. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.