Most small and mid-sized businesses don’t set out to “ignore” domain security. In fact, many assume it’s already handled—email works, messages go out, customers reply. From the surface, everything looks fine.
The problem is that domain trust isn’t measured by whether email works. It’s measured continuously by email providers, security systems, and attackers evaluating whether your domain can be trusted, impersonated, or exploited. That evaluation happens every day, quietly, in the background.
In 2025, your domain is no longer just an IT configuration detail. It’s a security identity, and gaps in how that identity is authenticated directly affect phishing risk, Business Email Compromise (BEC), inbox placement, and brand trust.
Email remains the most common initial access vector for cyberattacks against businesses. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), BEC continues to be one of the most financially damaging cybercrimes globally, with reported losses exceeding $2.9 billion annually . These attacks rarely rely on malware. They succeed by impersonating trusted senders.
At the same time, email providers have tightened authentication standards. Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo now require proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment for many senders, treating unauthenticated domains as higher risk. Google has stated that strong email authentication is now a baseline requirement, not an advanced security feature .
This puts SMBs in a difficult position. Even if no one is actively attacking your organization, weak or misaligned domain authentication can still lead to blocked messages, spam placement, or loss of trust with partners and customers.
Most SMBs don’t search for “DMARC failure” or “SPF misalignment.” They notice symptoms:
emails landing in spam without a clear reason
vendors questioning whether messages are legitimate
customers reporting suspicious emails using the company name
marketing or transactional emails behaving inconsistently
security teams flagging spoofing attempts
Behind these issues is usually a lack of visibility. Over time, domains accumulate sending services—Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, CRMs, ticketing tools, accounting platforms, and third-party vendors. Few organizations maintain a clear, current inventory of who is authorized to send email on their behalf.
According to Gartner, lack of visibility into digital identity surfaces, including email domains, is a growing governance risk, particularly as organizations rely more heavily on third-party services and SaaS platforms .
This is where a domain scanner fits in—when expectations are set correctly.
A domain scanner is not an email service.
It does not fix configuration issues automatically.
It does not enforce policies.
It is a visibility tool.
Securafy’s DMARC Domain Scanner, powered by EasyDMARC, checks publicly available DNS records and evaluates how your domain is currently configured across key authentication standards: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI. The output is a clear snapshot of your domain’s security, deliverability, and trust posture as it appears to the outside world.
The scanner helps answer practical questions SMBs already have:
Are authentication records present and valid?
Is DMARC enforced or only monitored?
Are there obvious misconfigurations or alignment gaps?
Could this domain be easily spoofed today?
You can run the scan here:
Scan your domain’s DMARC, SPF, DKIM, and BIMI configuration
https://www.securafy.com/dmarc-domain-scanner
Understanding scan results doesn’t require becoming an email expert, but it does help to know how each control contributes to security and trust.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) defines which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Missing or overly permissive SPF records are one of the most common causes of spoofing exposure.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) uses cryptographic signatures to verify message integrity. Microsoft notes that DKIM alignment plays a significant role in determining inbox placement and trust decisions .
DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM by enforcing policy and providing reporting. According to CISA, DMARC enforcement significantly reduces successful domain spoofing and impersonation attempts .
BIMI adds a visual trust signal by displaying a verified brand logo in supported inboxes, but only for domains that enforce DMARC at a quarantine or reject level. BIMI is a result of good security posture, not a substitute for it.
Running a scan often reveals issues—but knowing what is wrong doesn’t automatically make it safe to fix. Changing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC incorrectly can disrupt legitimate email flow, breaking business-critical communications.
This is where the MSSP role becomes relevant.
Securafy does not sell email platforms or domain tools. Our role is to help businesses interpret risk, maintain visibility, and apply controls safely. Managing DMARC is a process, not a one-time configuration change. It involves identifying all legitimate senders, validating alignment, monitoring reports, and enforcing policy gradually to avoid disruption.
This approach aligns with security best practices recommended by both CISA and major email providers, which emphasize staged enforcement rather than immediate rejection policies.
Attackers are more convincing.
Email providers are less forgiving.
Vendors and customers expect stronger security hygiene.
According to CISA, email authentication failures remain a contributing factor in phishing and impersonation campaigns across industries . Domains without enforced DMARC policies are statistically more likely to be abused for spoofing.
In this environment, domains are not passive assets. They are active risk surfaces that require monitoring and governance.
For SMBs, domain security doesn’t start with enforcement. It starts with understanding how your domain is currently perceived and where trust breaks down.
A simple scan won’t solve everything, but it will tell you whether your domain is helping or hurting your security posture today. From there, next steps become clearer—and safer.
From visibility comes informed action. And in 2026, informed action is what separates domains that are trusted from those that are exploited.
If you want to understand what the internet sees when it evaluates your domain, start here:
Check your domain’s security, deliverability, and trust score