State of email authentication and the Internet trust ecosystem

Authentication & Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) announced the “2008 State of Email Authentication and the Internet Trust Ecosystem” report.  The group found that email authentication adoption has surpassed the tipping point across all top-level of email authentication adoption metrics.

AOTA top level findings:

+ 55% of legitimate email sent worldwide is authenticated
+ Adoption has surpassed 50% amongst each of the following sectors:

» 51% of the Fortune 500 consumer-facing brands
» 52% of the Fortune 500 consumer-facing financial services brands
» 54% of Internet Retailer top 300 brands

+ Over 1,300 FDIC member banks have adopted, demonstrating growing commitment by the financial services industry
+ Over 100 marketing and technology vendors support DKIM and or SIDF
 
Despite the upsurge in email authentication there is still work to be done. AOTA is releasing a call to action for all brand owners to implement email authentication at the top level corporate domain within the next six months. Those brands who adopt will be taking a step forward in protecting their consumers, brands, and stockholders. Those that fail will realize a competitive disadvantage and expose their brands to an unacceptable level of potential exploits.