DomainKeys Identified Mail

DomainKeys Identified Mail, or DKIM, is a system for verifying the authenticity of an email by using an e-signature. When DomainKeys Identified Mail is enabled for a given domain, a public encryption key is published to the global DNS database and a private one is kept on the email server. If a new message is sent, a signature is generated using the private key and when the message is delivered, the signature is ‘scanned’ by the receiving server using the public key. In this way, the recipient can easily tell if the email message is genuine or if the sender’s email address has been spoofed. A mismatch will appear if the content of the email has been changed on its way as well, so DKIM can also be used to ensure that the sent and the received email messages are identical and that nothing has been attached or erased. This email validation system will boost your email security, since you can validate the authenticity of the important email messages that you get and your partners can do likewise with the email messages that you send them. Based on the given email provider’s adopted policy, an email that fails to pass the check may be deleted or may emerge in the recipient’s mailbox with a warning alert.