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CS0-003 · Question #210

The email system administrator for an organization configured DKIM signing for all email legitimately sent by the organization. Which of the following would most likely indicate an email is malicious

The correct answer is A. The message fails a DMARC check. If DKIM signing is configured for legitimate emails, a malicious email spoofing the company's domain would most likely fail a DMARC check, indicating illegitimacy.

Submitted by akirajp· Mar 6, 2026Security Operations

Question

The email system administrator for an organization configured DKIM signing for all email legitimately sent by the organization. Which of the following would most likely indicate an email is malicious if the company's domain name is used as both the sender and the recipient?

Options

  • AThe message fails a DMARC check
  • BThe sending IP address is the hosting provider
  • CThe signature does not meet corporate standards
  • DThe sender and reply address are different

How the community answered

(67 responses)
  • A
    82% (55)
  • B
    4% (3)
  • C
    10% (7)
  • D
    3% (2)

Why each option

If DKIM signing is configured for legitimate emails, a malicious email spoofing the company's domain would most likely fail a DMARC check, indicating illegitimacy.

AThe message fails a DMARC checkCorrect

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) leverages SPF and DKIM to provide a policy framework for email authentication. If a malicious email attempts to spoof the company's domain, and legitimate emails are DKIM signed, the spoofed email will almost certainly fail the DKIM alignment check, leading to a DMARC failure. A DMARC failure with a robust policy (e.g., quarantine or reject) is a strong indicator of a malicious, unauthorized email.

BThe sending IP address is the hosting provider

The sending IP address being a hosting provider is not inherently malicious, as many legitimate organizations utilize hosting services for email infrastructure; SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are designed to authenticate such senders.

CThe signature does not meet corporate standards

The phrase 'the signature does not meet corporate standards' is vague and doesn't represent a specific, verifiable email authentication failure like a DMARC check.

DThe sender and reply address are different

Having different sender and reply-to addresses is common and legitimate for various automated or notification emails, so it is not a strong indicator of malicious intent.

Concept tested: Email authentication DMARC failure

Source: https://dmarc.org/

Topics

#email authentication#DKIM#DMARC#malicious email detection

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