Co-author: Wendy Bloechle

Email remains one of the most common paths for phishing and domain impersonation. Attackers rely on misconfigured or unmonitored sending infrastructure to deliver messages that appear legitimate.

Email authentication is only as effective as your ability to see what’s happening across your domain. DMARC provides visibility by identifying who’s sending email on your behalf and whether those senders are properly authenticated. Yet many organizations struggle to operationalize DMARC data in a way that supports confident decision-making. Visibility remains incomplete, and enforcement often gets delayed.

Removing the DMARC barrier to entry

For many organizations, getting DMARC-enabled visibility has proven harder than it should be. DMARC monitoring typically requires separate tools to ingest and parse aggregate reports, additional accounts to manage them, and manual coordination with DNS to validate and tune policies.

As a result, it's common for organizations to either remain at a basic p=none policy or lack the time and context to actively review their DMARC data. 

The outcome is predictable: Unknown senders go unnoticed, legitimate services remain misconfigured, and security teams are left without a reliable view of their email ecosystem.

DNS is the control plane for DMARC

DMARC policies are published and enforced through DNS. Every policy decision—monitoring, quarantine, or reject—originates from a DNS record. Separating DNS from DMARC analysis introduces unnecessary friction. But bringing them together simplifies how authentication is managed.

DNS already defines how domains behave. Extending that role to include visibility creates a more direct connection between policy and outcome. Teams can evaluate what’s happening and adjust configurations, all from the same place.

Integrated visibility improves operational clarity

When DMARC monitoring is embedded into DNS, visibility becomes easier to access and easier to trust. Teams can review sending activity and authentication results without relying on separate tools or workflows.

This makes it easier to:

• Identify services sending on behalf of the domain 
• Verify which senders pass or fail authentication 
• Detect unauthorized or unexpected infrastructure 
• Confirm alignment with mailbox provider requirements 

Reducing system dependencies shortens the path from observation to action.

Monitoring supports controlled progress toward enforcement

DMARC monitoring provides visibility without affecting mail flow. Teams can build a complete inventory of legitimate senders and identify gaps before applying stricter policies.

That foundation supports a more controlled move to enforcement. Policies such as quarantine and reject depend on a clear understanding of sending behavior across the domain.

Bring visibility into DNS workflows with UltraDNS

DigiCert UltraDNS now includes built-in DMARC monitoring powered by Valimail. Monitoring can be enabled within the DNS environment where policies are already managed, and aggregate reports are translated into actionable insight.

Existing UltraDNS customers can enable monitoring directly from the domain interface*:

1. Log in to the UltraDNS portal
2. Select a domain
3. Enable DMARC monitoring

*A Valimail account is required to access the reporting dashboard. Log in or create your free account at https://www.valimail.com/partners/ultradns/.

Moving toward enforcement with confidence

Stronger DMARC policies depend on accurate visibility. Enforcement actions such as quarantine and reject require assurance that legitimate senders are properly authenticated.

Accessible and continuously updated visibility allows teams to validate configurations, resolve gaps, and transition to enforcement with precision. This reduces the likelihood of disrupting legitimate communications and strengthens protection against unauthorized use.

Strengthening the role of DNS in digital trust

Bringing DMARC visibility into DNS simplifies how organizations manage email authentication at scale. It connects policy, insight, and enforcement within the same system, reducing complexity and improving response time.

Whether you’re evaluating options or expanding existing capabilities, explore DigiCert UltraDNS to see how you can bring DNS management and DMARC monitoring together within a single platform.