Smart BIMI documentation
Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is a new and emerging email method of email authentication that aims to provide email recipients and email security systems with greater confidence in verifying the source of emails. With an increase in the intensity and frequency of email spoofing and brand impersonation attacks, a need for greater authentication specifications like BIMI has been realized, hence KDMARC now has Smart BIMI feature.
You can now host BIMI through KDMARC platform. Below are the pre-requisites required to host your BIMI logo through our platform.
Pre-requisites :
1. You require a VMC ceritficate for which the trademark of your logo has to be registered in one of the below IP office.
Country/ Region | Trademark Offices Authorized for Verified Mark Certificates | String Value for a Trademark Under Sec. 4.5.2.4.1 and 4.5.2.4.2 |
United States (US) | United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) -– https://www.uspto.gov/ | US |
Canada (CA) | Canadian Intellectual Property Office -– http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ | CA |
European Union (EM) | European Union Intellectual Property Office -– https://euipo.europa.eu/ | EM |
United Kingdom (GB) | UK Intellectual Property Office -– https://www.gov.uk/search-for- | GB |
Germany (DE) | DE | |
Japan (JP) | Japan Trademark Office -– https://www.jpo.go.jp/ | JP |
Australia (AU) | IP Australia - | AU |
2. In order to get your VMC (Verified Mark Certificate), you must have the below points covered.
- Prove Ownership of Domain To obtain VMC : You must prove ownership of the domain you wish to authenticate. Different VMC providers may require various methods of domain ownership verification, such as adding a specific DNS record, uploading a verification file to your website, or using email-based validation.
- Pass VMC Validation : The VMC provider will perform an in-depth review of your brand and logo to verify that they meet the BIMI standards. This review process may take some time, depending on the provider and the number of requests they receive.
- Install the VMC : Once your logo and brand have been successfully validated, the VMC provider will issue the Verified Mark Certificate. You will receive the VMC as a digital certificate file (usually in PEM format). Install this certificate on your email infrastructure following the VMC provider's instructions.
There are 2 ways to get your VMC Certificate.
- From Digicert : To obtain the certificate from Digicert, you need to follow a series of steps. Kindly go to the link provided below to complete all the necessary procedures and acquire your VMC Certificate.
Link : https://order.digicert.com/step1/vmc_basic - From Entrust : To receive your VMC certificate, kindly follow the link below to learn more about the required steps.
Link : https://store.entrust.com/default/vmc.html?_ga=2.51643305.1069829576.1690960805-645774147.1690960805&_gl=1*2oe1ws*_ga*NjQ1Nzc0MTQ3LjE2OTA5NjA4MDU.*_ga_6QRW66BW5T*MTY5MDk2MDgwNi4xLjEuMTY5MDk2MTM2OC4zOC4wLjA.
3. DMARC record, for your domain should be at Quarantine or Reject policy.
Once you are ready with the above requirements follow the below procedure to generate a TXT record on KDMARC.
Process to host BIMI :
1. Go to the 'Smart BIMI' feature under the Smart Control panel.
2. Select 'Add New BIMI' at the top right hand corner.
3. Now select the domain and upload the required BIMI logo and certificate. You can also create your own custom selector if you wish to do so.
4. Click 'Next' and you will see a TXT record which needs to be updated over your DNS.
Now all your emails will be identified by a BIMI logo increasing email domain security measures and brand recognition.
If you face any query kindly reach us at support@kratikal.com
Related Articles
(Video Tutorial) Smart BIMI Hosting
This video will take you through the process of generating and hosting your BIMI record. Reach us out in case of any query.Hosted BIMI
Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) offers an additional way to verify information related to your brand just like DKIM, SPF and DMARC- the three standard protocols used to verify sender information. It is a text record associated with ...What is Smart SPF and Smart DMARC?
Smart SPF is the configuration of sources/senders and IP's in your SPF record by a single click on the KDMARC dashboard. Smart DMARC refers to the change in policy (None, Quarantine and Reject & their DMARC tags) at real time through the KDMARC ...How Smart SPF Works?
KDMARC is an industry-leading cybersecurity tool, designed to monitor three standard email authentication protocols- SPF, DKIM and DMARC, for complementing the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). It offers the Smart SPF feature to monitor and ...What is Smart DMARC?
Implementation and management of SPF, DKIM and DMARC is one common issue faced by all. However, the Smart DMARC feature by KDMARC eliminates the hassle to a greater extent. It makes monitoring and securing domains extremely easy and hassle-free. ...