On 23 Jun 2011, at 20:00, Douglas Otis wrote:

>> 
>> This seems like a completely bogus argument to me. You're saying that
>> some domains can't be trusted, therefore none can be trusted. That's
>> a logical fallacy.
> 
> Not at all.  Acceptance policies and results for DKIM MUST align with
> what is being displayed in the message.  Otherwise malefactors may be
> able to exploit open and large volume domain's signatures and their lack
> of duplicates in the signed header list (which most don't do).  The
> pre-pended header fields could then be that of any high value domain.
> These messages might have been accepted on the false premise of being
> from a high volume domain when based upon valid DKIM signature indications.

Right, but DKIM is checked at the MTA. If I think that messages DKIM signed by, 
say, my local council, are trustworthy, then I apply a spam score accordingly. 
The fact that someone else might spoof a From: header in a different mail 
stream says nothing about whether I can trust the stream from my local council.

So, it may be that the practical outcome is to improve the deliverability of 
mail for a trusted signer, which is a different problem. But that's still 
useful. With ADSP, of course, there's also a chance of spotting spoofed 
messages.

And, if multiple "From:" headers become a popular spoofing mechanism, I guess 
sites will stop accepting them.

I accept that DKIM doesn't solve every problem, but that doesn't mean that it 
has no value.

-- 
Ian Eiloart
Postmaster, University of Sussex
+44 (0) 1273 87-3148


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