• by Ray Schultz , July 12, 2021

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification), a security standard that allows firms to display their brand logos alongside authenticated email messages, is being rolled out by Gmail to all its inboxes this month, according to the AuthIndicators Working Group, the group that developed BIMI.

Google announced its support of the standard last year.  

In addition, email security firm Valimail has debuted a service called Amplify that enables brands to display their logos through BIMI. 

“BIMI is an industry-wide effort to advance email authentication and help all brands protect themselves,” states Seth Blank, chair of the AuthIndicators Working Group and Chief Product Officer, Valimail. “It provides protection for users at scale and makes the email ecosystem better and safer for everyone.”

BIMI is also supported by AOL, Yahoo Mail, Fastmail and other mailbox providers. It increases open rates by 10%, while preventing the spoofing of logos, its developers say.

In a related development, Valimail announced it is partnering with DigiCert and Entrust to streamline the process for earning a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC), a necessary step for BIMI compliance. VMCs certify that a firm is utilizing  DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance), the primary email security standard. 

“DigiCert’s partnership with Valimail simplifies BIMI compliance with VMCs and DMARC enforcement — a strategy designed to deliver more consistent, secure email for businesses and consumers,” said DigiCert Senior Director of Business Development, Dean Coclin. 

Other firms that have worked on developing BIMI include MailChimp, Proofpoint, Validity, Fastmail, Twilio SendGrid and Verizon Media.