DigiCert secures brand recognition with Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs)

DiciCert is now issuing Verified Mark Certificates, compliant with the BIMI standard, which enable companies to add trademarked logos to emails to increase recognition, open and engagement rates and brand impressions, while bringing greater trust and transparency to email via DMARC – now available for purchase at scale via DigiCert CertCentral®.

Paired with the required DMARC enforcement, VMCs are a critical step in a series of security measures that help strengthen email security, build trust in the inbox and help users associate the brand logo with the company they expect to communicate with.

“Validating identity and demonstrating trust are hallmarks of DigiCert’s business,” said DigiCert Senior Director of Business Development Dean Coclin. “With BIMI and VMC from DigiCert for DMARC-verified domains, organisations can now demonstrate to their customers a higher level of email security. DigiCert VMCs not only help reduce instances of spam and spoofing customers receive, because of the DMARC requirement, but they also enable organisations to go beyond displaying default email addresses to increase engagement rates and display their brands more prominently.” 

VMCs are available as part of the BIMI standard, which seeks to increase adoption of DMARC as a key email security mechanism. By utilising VMCs secured by DMARC, organisations will be a step closer to total email security and protection of customer privacy. DMARC compliance provides robust security against spoofing and phishing attacks, helping organisations better secure their emails to protect users and brands from costly abuse. Email clients leverage DMARC, an internet standard for authenticating domains to help ensure that email comes from the domain specified.

DigiCert’s validation and issuance teams now provide the company and logo verification required for BIMI, following a one-year pilot with the BIMI Working Group. Several prominent companies participated with DigiCert in the Gmail BIMI/VMC pilot and are excited about being able to display their logos in email inboxes. DigiCert has also partnered with Valimail to streamline DMARC compliance for companies wanting to use VMCs.

“BIMI and VMC are a significant win for customers and brands of all sizes. DMARC ensures customers don’t get spoofed email from the brands they trust, and BIMI ensures brands get increased impressions, open rates and brand trust,” said Seth Blank, Chair of the AuthIndicators (BIMI) Working Group and Chief Product Officer at Valimail. “We’re thrilled to have DigiCert’s help in bringing VMC and BIMI to the world.”

“BIMI authenticates emails using DMARC, a key protection against email phishing, spoofing and other attacks,” explained Gareth Mandel, CEO of e-harmony. “We worked closely with our IT department to make sure our organisation enforced DMARC so that VMCs could be installed and display our verified logo. Our partnership on this project has even further strengthened the connection between our CRM and IT teams.”

“With the display of validated brand logos and DMARC enforcement, VMCs improve email security and increase open rates,” said Ikko Furuki, CEO of Cybervision Hosting Co., Ltd. “Users can have confidence in knowing which company is sending them the email, which we feel will help protect our customers and increase their loyalty. With the global support of DigiCert and Gmail, we will soon be able to offer VMC in the regions where we do business.”

Companies can start today adding their logo to their emails by visiting DigiCert Verified Mark Certificates.