What are Verified Mark Certificates & how do they help authenticate emails?
Digital certificates are a vital part of securing online communications, including email. While they primarily safeguard sensitive data, they can also enhance trust and brand recognition. Verified mark certificates (VMCs) are a specialized type of digital certificate used to authenticate emails by displaying a trademarked logo next to the sender’s name. VMCs offer a variety of practical advantages, but they take some effort to implement. We’ll guide you on how they work and their role in email branding and security.
What is a verified mark certificate?
A verified mark certificate (VMC) is a specific type of digital certificate designed to demonstrate authenticity by displaying trademarked logos near the sender's name. This visual indicator reinforces brand identity, enhances cybersecurity, and ensures recipients see a recognizable logo as they browse their inboxes.
VMCs share many similarities with Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) certificates, but with a greater focus on branding as a means of establishing trust.
How do VMCs work?
At first glance, VMCs seem simple: the sender opts to display a logo in the email client header, and the recipient sees this logo before opening the email. However, before leveraging this solution, senders must meet certain requirements.
VMCs call for DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) policies, which, in turn, rely on the Domain Name System (DNS) to help reveal whether emails are legitimate. DMARC serves as a foundation for VMCs, safeguarding recipients against spoofing or phishing attacks while ensuring that emails successfully pass through the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).
The domain that sends the email featuring a VMC must align with DMARC authentication. This may be confirmed via 'p' tags that designate policy actions: either reject or quarantine, referencing different levels of protection. The p=reject policy is stricter, suggesting that an email that fails DMARC should be rejected entirely. The p=quarantine policy may accept such emails but place them in spam folders.
DMARC authentication is necessary for meeting Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) specifications. This is the targeted standard that email clients (such as Gmail) use to allow trademark logos to be displayed. This process begins with achieving DMARC authentication and continues with obtaining a VMC to confirm that the logo is valid—and finally, configuring BIMI within DNS records.
Benefits of verified mark certificates
With the right provider, setting up VMCs is a straightforward process, as you'll be guided through each step. The benefits are well worth it, offering advantages for both senders and recipients. Top reasons for leveraging VMCs include:
Improved email trust and engagement. Email phishing is unfortunately common, but, thankfully, today's users are well aware of these risks and likely to eye emails from unknown entities with suspicion. VMCs help increase trust among recipients by drawing on the simple power of recognizable logos.
Enhanced brand recognition. Each VMC-adorned email provides yet another opportunity to display a logo within recipients' inboxes. Even if users don’t open these emails, seeing the logo in their inbox increases brand recognition over time.
Boosting email security and deliverability. In addition to addressing concerns surrounding email security, VMC can encourage senders to actively pursue secure strategies in an effort to gain DMARC compliance.
How to obtain a VMC certificate
These digital certificates are absolutely worth pursuing, given the powerful benefits that visible logos provide in the context of modern email communications. Prior to obtaining these certificates, however, a series of steps must be completed, involving the previously discussed DMARC and BIMI.
Focus on DMARC: The path to obtaining VMC certificates begins with DMARC compliance. First, publish the DMARC record in the domain's DNS settings. Confirm that these pass SPF and DKIM. Don't forget to set the policy to p=reject or p=quarantine.
Register and convert the logo: VMC calls for trademarked logos, so, if you have yet to register, you'll need to take this critical step before you proceed. Once the necessary trademark is secured, be prepared to convert the logo into the required SVG format, which is mandated by BIMI.
Get a VMC certificate: With DMARC compliance settled and the logo in question trademarked, the actual certificate can finally be secured. VMCs should be obtained from trusted certificate authorities (CAs) such as Sectigo. The validation and issuance process may involve submitting details such as DMARC verification or documentation confirming trademark ownership.
Why VMCs matter for businesses
We've already touched on the considerable benefits of VMCs, but it is important to note that these are no longer viewed as purely optional for today's businesses. Without a VMC, businesses miss branding opportunities and face greater risks of phishing and spoofing attacks. Therein lies the need for what Sectigo's Tim Callan refers to as an "un-spoofable visual cue."
Even when attacks are avoided, the failure to use VMCs can prompt issues with email deliverability, as emails could potentially be flagged as suspicious or sent to spam folders. This could prove problematic from a credibility perspective and is worth avoiding simply because it prevents emails from reaching their intended recipients.
Even so, it is possible to boost both email credibility and security while also improving brand awareness: simply take the steps to secure VMC certificates. This is beneficial not only because it leads to enhanced branding via logo visibility, but also because the steps involved in obtaining DMARC validation can be valuable in their own right, leading to greater protection against spoofing and phishing, attacks that are becoming more and more prominent in enterprise environments.
As you seek the simultaneous benefits of brand awareness and improved security, look to Sectigo for support.
Partner with Sectigo for email security
Even without direct attacks, emails without VMCs may be flagged as suspicious or sent to spam, reducing deliverability. Verified Mark Certificates help improve trust, security, and brand visibility in email communications.
As an industry-leading CA, Sectigo provides trusted VMC solutions to ensure your emails are authenticated and instantly recognizable. Secure your brand’s emails today—reach out to Sectigo to learn how to obtain a VMC and get started.
VMC FAQs
How do VMCs improve email engagement?
When recipients see familiar brand logos, they are more likely to feel confident that emails have been sent by reputable sources. VMCs facilitate logos, which offer a powerful form of visual reassurance. This makes recipients more likely to open and read emails. Furthermore, the DMARC process required to use VMCs can improve engagement by emphasizing authentication, which improves deliverability.
What is the difference between BIMI, CMC, and VMC?
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is an email authentication standard that displays a brand’s logo in supported email clients. A VMC (Verified Mark Certificate) is a digital certificate issued by a trusted authority that verifies logo ownership, often required for BIMI implementation. CMC (Certified Mark Certificate) shares a common goal of verifying logo ownership but does not require a registered trademark. CMCs are often a faster and more accessible path to BIMI compliance.