LONDON–A new analysis suggests that 74% of U.S. credit unions remain vulnerable to email spoofing attacks.
According to Red Sift, a cybersecurity firm, its analysis of 580 federally insured credit unions found that three-quarters have yet to implement the highest level of DMARC protection (p=reject), a key email authentication standard that stops spoofed messages before they reach inboxes.
Credit Union DMARC Readout
Red Sift said it found:
- p=reject (fully protected): 151 (26.0%) — blocks spoofed mail at the door
- p=quarantine (partial protection): 119 (20.5%) — suspicious mail sent to spam
- p=none (no protection): 218 (37.6%) — spoofed mail still delivers
- No DMARC record: 92 (15.9%) — no published protection at all
“This means 53.5% of credit unions are effectively unprotected (no DMARC or p=none),” the company said in a statement. “By comparison, Red Sift’s recent analysis of the 510 largest U.S. commercial banks found 41.2% enforced p=reject, putting credit unions well behind the broader financial sector.”
CU Breaches Cited
After citing several recent data breaches at credit unions, including some that involved ransomware, Red Sift said “the problem is not just technical — it is operational. Many credit unions face ‘sender sprawl’ across core banking, statements, marketing, and mortgage systems, making inventory mapping difficult. Fears of accidentally blocking critical communications like statements or payroll keep many stuck at p=none. Meanwhile, raw XML reports pile up without automation, and vendor systems often send unauthenticated mail, expanding the attack surface.”
The Fix
Red Sift said that moving to p=reject cuts fraud risk and inbox noise, protecting both security and reputation.
The company is advising credit unions to:
- Map all sending sources, including vendors
- Escalate DMARC policy in stages with guardrails to avoid disruptions
- Require authentication by default for all vendor systems.
Methodology
Red Sift said it classified DMARC states for 580 credit unions into four categories: p=reject, p=quarantine, p=none, and No DMARC. It said it used publicly available data and internal tracking systems.
