INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new study published today by 250ok, a leader in advanced
email analytics for DMARC, deliverability, design and engagement,
revealed 95 percent of the top 100 most valuable Chinese brands fail to
meet the minimum level of email authentication to protect consumers
against phishing attacks. Together, the listed companies have a total
brand value of $683.9 billion, with notable brands including Tencent,
Alibaba and Lenovo.
The report finds top Chinese brands are significantly less likely to
deploy DMARC records for their domains (4.6 percent) than other industry
verticals like top US and EU e-retailers (11.3 percent), or
top-performing SaaS 1000 businesses (35 percent). Remarkably, zero
Chinese brands reviewed employ a DMARC reject policy (p=reject), which
is considered an organization’s best defense against phishing attacks.
The total Chinese retail market was nearly $5 trillion in 2016, and by
2020, China will account for about 60 percent of global e-commerce. As
predominantly online Chinese businesses like Alibaba and JD.com work to
expand globally, email authentication practices play a significant role
in the ability to deliver both transactional (e.g., password resets,
shipping receipts, customer service correspondence) and promotional
(e.g., sales offers, shopping cart abandonment reminders) email messages
to consumers outside China.
Phishing and spoofing attacks against consumers are more likely when
companies do not have a published Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and/or
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and a Domain-based Message
Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) policy in place. SPF
is an email authentication system that helps detect spoofing attempts,
or a third party disguising itself as a particular sender using a
counterfeit email address. DKIM is an email authentication mechanism
indicating whether or not a message has been modified since it was
originally sent. A DMARC reject policy informs mailbox providers what to
do with messages that fail SPF or DKIM tests.
“Chinese brands looking for revenue growth in the West will increase
dependence on the email channel,” said Joe Montgomery, VP of marketing
at 250ok. “Getting to a DMARC reject policy is a logical first step in
ramping up their marketing programs for global business.”
A 2017 study from the Anti-Phishing Working Group reported phishing
attacks targeted an average of 443 brands per month in the first half of
2017, up from 413 per month during the same period in the previous year.
These attacks are a threat to brand trust, as 91 percent of all cyber
attacks begin with a phishing email.
To access the full report, visit: s.250ok.com/ChinaDMARC
About 250ok
250ok focuses on advanced email analytics, insight and deliverability
technology to power a large and growing number of businesses and higher
education email programs ranging from clients like eHarmony, Furniture
Row and Pinterest, who depend on 250ok to cut through big data noise and
provide actionable, real-time analytics to maximize email performance.
For more information, visit 250ok.com.