EasyDMARC Inc., a startup helping companies implement the DMARC email security standard, today announced that it has raised $20 million in an early-stage funding round.

New York-based venture capital firm Radian Capital led the Series A investment.

Hackers often attempt to disguise malicious emails by making it appear as if they were sent from a legitimate company’s domain. To combat this tactic, which is known as spoofing, many enterprises have adopted a pair of cybersecurity technologies called SPF and DKIM. They make it easier for the recipient of a spoofed email to determine that the message is malicious. 

EasyDMARC provides a cloud platform for implementing DMARC, a security standard that is increasingly being deployed alongside SPF and DKIM. When one of the latter technologies detects a spoofed email, DMARC can block the message or have it sent to the recipient’s spam folder. Moreover, the standard alerts the operator of the legitimate domain that the email attempted to spoof. 

Many companies are adopting DMARC because Google LLC and Yahoo Inc. recently made it mandatory for so-called bulk senders. Those are organizations that send at least several thousand messages per day. An upcoming change to PCI DSS, a cybersecurity standard widely used in the payment card industry, will also make DMARC support mandatory for many financial services companies.

When users type a website URL into their browsers, a system known as a DNS server finds the servers that host the requested website. Implementing DMARC requires a company to modify its website’s DNS server, which can involve a significant amount of manual work. EasyDMARC’s platform includes a console that allows administrators to complete the task with less time and effort than it usually requires. 

Another feature built into the platform detects when a company’s DMARC implementation blocks an email or sends it to the recipient’s spam folder. According to EasyDMARC, the tool can determine if the email was rejected on account of an infrastructure issue or because it was spoofed. In the latter scenario, the platform provides the affected company with technical information about the malicious sending activity.

EasyDMARC sells its flagship DMARC platform alongside a number of complementary tools. It offers products that simplify the task of implementing SPF and DKIM, the two email security technologies that DMARC relies on to work. The company also provides a cloud service that helps customers ensure their legitimate emails don’t end up in recipients’ spam folders.

The tools have been adopted by more than 45,000 organizations worldwide. To grow its market presence, the company will use the proceeds from today’s funding round to enhance its products and hire more employees. EasyDMARC plans to grow its network of channel partners as well. 

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