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Email Authentication Widely Adopted Across Top Middle East E-Commerce Websites As The Holiday Shopping Season Approaches
(MENAFN- Mid-East Info)
This year's analysis shows strong awareness of authenticated email practices across the region, with retailers taking clearer steps to secure their customer communications. In the UAE, 89% of the most visited retail websites publish a DMARC record, and 42% enforce the recommended reject policy. In Saudi Arabia, 95% publish a DMARC record and 53% enforce reject. Across both markets, adoption reflects a growing focus on securing customer communication in the retail sector. Despite this progress, many retail domains still operate without full DMARC enforcement, increasing the risk that unauthenticated messages can appear legitimate. Strong domain authentication remains essential for securing communication across customer and operational touchpoints. AI is also accelerating change across the retail ecosystem, creating new pressure on security controls. Recent research studies show that the vast majority of retailers in the region already use AI solutions across parts of their operations. This rapid adoption improves customer discovery and personalisation, while giving attackers new opportunities to imitate trusted brands at scale. Kenan Abu Ltaif, Regional Lead Middle East and Turkey, Proofpoint, said,” Retailers in the UAE have made steady progress in strengthening their email authentication posture, with most now publishing DMARC records to secure customer communication. But the low number of domains enforcing the recommended reject policy shows that gaps still exist. As shoppers rely heavily on email during White Friday and the holiday season, strong authentication becomes essential for blocking fraudulent messages that imitate trusted brands. Retailers that enforce DMARC at reject protect not only their customers but also their own reputation at a time when AI tools give attackers new ways to craft convincing impersonation attempts.” Proofpoint recommends that retailers review their domain authentication policies and enforce DMARC at reject to reduce the risk of unauthorised messages passing as legitimate communication. Consumers can also improve their safety by visiting trusted websites directly, validating offers at checkout, using strong, unique passwords, and enabling multi-factor authentication. About DMARC: For many organizations, the road to easing email fraud risk is paved with DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), an email protocol being adopted globally as the passport control of the email security world. It verifies that the purported domain of the sender has not been impersonated. DMARC verification relies on the established DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) standards to ensure the email is not spoofing the domain. This authentication protects employees, customers, and partners from cyber criminals looking to impersonate a trusted domain. Methodology: To assess the level of DMARC adoption among the top e-commerce and retail domains in the UAE and KSA, Proofpoint analyzed the primary corporate domains of each organization. The analysis was carried out in November 2025. About Proofpoint, Inc. Proofpoint, Inc. is a leading cybersecurity and compliance company that protects organisations' greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber attacks. Leading organisations of all sizes, including 75 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions that mitigate their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. Proofpoint is a registered trademark or tradename of Proofpoint, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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89% of top e-commerce websites in the UAE and 95% in KSA publish a DMARC record, showing stronger commitment to email authentication
AI is reshaping retail journeys in the region and expanding the attack surface, increasing the need for authenticated communication during peak shopping periods
This year's analysis shows strong awareness of authenticated email practices across the region, with retailers taking clearer steps to secure their customer communications. In the UAE, 89% of the most visited retail websites publish a DMARC record, and 42% enforce the recommended reject policy. In Saudi Arabia, 95% publish a DMARC record and 53% enforce reject. Across both markets, adoption reflects a growing focus on securing customer communication in the retail sector. Despite this progress, many retail domains still operate without full DMARC enforcement, increasing the risk that unauthenticated messages can appear legitimate. Strong domain authentication remains essential for securing communication across customer and operational touchpoints. AI is also accelerating change across the retail ecosystem, creating new pressure on security controls. Recent research studies show that the vast majority of retailers in the region already use AI solutions across parts of their operations. This rapid adoption improves customer discovery and personalisation, while giving attackers new opportunities to imitate trusted brands at scale. Kenan Abu Ltaif, Regional Lead Middle East and Turkey, Proofpoint, said,” Retailers in the UAE have made steady progress in strengthening their email authentication posture, with most now publishing DMARC records to secure customer communication. But the low number of domains enforcing the recommended reject policy shows that gaps still exist. As shoppers rely heavily on email during White Friday and the holiday season, strong authentication becomes essential for blocking fraudulent messages that imitate trusted brands. Retailers that enforce DMARC at reject protect not only their customers but also their own reputation at a time when AI tools give attackers new ways to craft convincing impersonation attempts.” Proofpoint recommends that retailers review their domain authentication policies and enforce DMARC at reject to reduce the risk of unauthorised messages passing as legitimate communication. Consumers can also improve their safety by visiting trusted websites directly, validating offers at checkout, using strong, unique passwords, and enabling multi-factor authentication. About DMARC: For many organizations, the road to easing email fraud risk is paved with DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), an email protocol being adopted globally as the passport control of the email security world. It verifies that the purported domain of the sender has not been impersonated. DMARC verification relies on the established DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework) standards to ensure the email is not spoofing the domain. This authentication protects employees, customers, and partners from cyber criminals looking to impersonate a trusted domain. Methodology: To assess the level of DMARC adoption among the top e-commerce and retail domains in the UAE and KSA, Proofpoint analyzed the primary corporate domains of each organization. The analysis was carried out in November 2025. About Proofpoint, Inc. Proofpoint, Inc. is a leading cybersecurity and compliance company that protects organisations' greatest assets and biggest risks: their people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber attacks. Leading organisations of all sizes, including 75 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions that mitigate their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. Proofpoint is a registered trademark or tradename of Proofpoint, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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