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\begin{document}
\english

\ateneo{Politecnico di Torino}
\corsodilaurea{Cybersecurity}

\titolo{Email Spoofing and Domain Impersonation: A Technical and Experimental Study of DMARC Enforcement and Risk Assessment Frameworks}

\candidato{Nicola \textsc{Seidita}}
\relatore{Prof.\ Andrea \textsc{Atzeni}}
\secondorelatore{Prof.\ Paolo \textsc{Dal Checco}}
\sedutadilaurea{\textsc{Academic~Year} 2025-2026}
\logosede{Logo_PoliTo_dal_2021_blu}

\CorsoDiLaureaIn{Master Degree course in\space}
\TesiDiLaurea{Master Degree Thesis}
\InName{in}
\CandidateName{Candidate}
\AdvisorName{Supervisors}


\frontespizio % make cover page

\ringraziamenti

I am thankful for the support and guidance provided by my supervisors Prof. Andrea Atzeni and Prof. Paolo Dal Checco, whose precise advice has been invaluable to this work.
I would like to continue the rest of my acknowledgements in Italian, in order to make people better understand what I want to exprime. \\


Desidero ringraziare sinceramente i miei genitori, senza i quali non sarei qui. Durante tutti questi anni hanno sempre messo da parte i loro impegni e hanno fatto tanti sacrifici per potermi permettere di arrivare fino a qui. Senza il loro supporto e la loro fiducia questo traguardo non sarebbe stato possibile. \\


Un ringraziamento speciale va a mio fratello, che è sempre stato il mio primo sostenitore e non ha mai smesso di credere in me e nelle mie capacità. Con la sua presenza e il suo incoraggiamento è sempre stato per me un punto di riferimento e una fonte di motivazione nei momenti più difficili e in quelli più importanti.\\


Inoltre volevo ringraziare tutti i miei amici, che ci sono sempre stati, sia nei bei momenti che non. Il vostro supporto mi ha fatto crescere e mi ha fatto capire che potrò sempre contare su di voi, perché siete la mia seconda famiglia.

\abstract
Email spoofing and domain impersonation represent persistent threats to digital communications, enabling Business Email Compromise (BEC), financial fraud, and reputational damage. Despite the availability of authentication standards such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, adoption remains incomplete and enforcement policies are frequently misconfigured, reducing their preventive effectiveness.

This thesis investigates email authentication from a multidisciplinary perspective, integrating technical analysis, forensic methodologies, and legal accountability frameworks. First, the work examines the operational interplay between SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, highlighting common configuration weaknesses and their security implications. A technical and comparative evaluation of existing DMARC compliance and forensic tools is conducted, with particular focus on configuration-based exposure analysis and evidentiary preservation.

Building upon these foundations, the thesis introduces two original contributions. The first is a tool designed to evaluate domain-level spoofing exposure through lookalike domain detection, Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) homoglyph analysis, subdomain-based deception signals, and DNS authentication posture assessment. A risk scoring model is proposed to provide explainable and reproducible exposure metrics. 
The second contribution consists of a controlled multi-node email simulation environment that reproduces legitimate and malicious scenarios, including direct spoofing and third-party impersonation attacks. Through systematic header analysis and the correlation of authentication result, the experimental framework demonstrates how different configuration choices affect message delivery, rejection, and forensic traceability.

The results show that effective spoofing mitigation requires not only correct DMARC enforcement but also continuous monitoring, transport hardening, and domain risk analysis. Finally, the thesis argues that authentication configurations can serve as objective forensic artifacts in legal disputes, linking technical posture to domain owner responsibility.

\indici

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