Google has announced several new security features for its G Suite services. Included in the new features is the pilot of a method of battling email phishing that allows brand logos to display within authenticated emails.
Brand Indications for Message Identification (BIMI) will enable organizations, who authenticate their emails using DMARC, to validate ownership of their corporate logos and securely transmit them to Google. Once these authenticated emails pass all of our other anti-abuse checks, Gmail will start displaying the logo in existing avatar slots in the Gmail UI.
The system will authenticate messages using the exiting DMARC system and requiring strong authentication. The new feature is designed to give users and email security systems increased confidence in the source of emails.
Google will start the BIMI pilot in the coming weeks, a limited number of senders will be included in the program initially. Participants will use two Certification Authorities to validate logo ownership: Entrust Datacard and DigiCert.
To learn more about BIMI, visit the working group’s website.