During a routine supply chain security assessment, CloudSEK’s Digital Supply Chain Security platform SVigil uncovered a misconfigured SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record on a vendor’s primary domain. The vendor, a logistics SaaS provider, powers global supply chain operations—serving e-commerce platforms, manufacturers, and enterprises by acting as the digital bridge between suppliers, transporters, and end clients.

For a provider at the heart of so many supply chains, trusted communication is non-negotiable. Each day, their domain delivers thousands of mission-critical emails—covering shipment updates, invoices, delivery schedules, and client communications. Yet, a seemingly minor misconfiguration in their email security posture quietly undermined this trust, leaving their brand exposed to exploitation.

That single oversight transformed a legitimate business domain into a potential launchpad for phishing attacks, business email compromise, and large-scale fraud. 

The Discovery: A Welcome Mat for Impersonators

CloudSEK's SVigil platform, while monitoring a customer’s supply chain infrastructure, flagged a seemingly minor issue where the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record was set to ~all (a "Soft Fail") on a vendor’s primary domain.

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SPF is an email authentication mechanism designed to prevent spoofing by listing the servers authorised to send emails on behalf of a domain. An SPF record typically ends with either:

• -all (Hard Fail) → The strict option. If an email comes from a server not on the list, it’s rejected outright. For example: Think of this like a bouncer at a nightclub who checks the list and says: “If your name isn’t here, you’re not getting in—no exceptions.”
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• ~all (Soft Fail) → The lenient option. Unauthorised emails are still delivered, but they’re flagged as “suspicious.” For example: This is like a lenient security guard: "Your name's not on the list, which is suspicious, but I'll let you in anyway and just make a note of it."
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This "soft fail" policy was an open invitation for attackers. It allowed any malicious actor on the internet to send emails that looked exactly like they came from the logistics company, and most receiving mail servers would still deliver them to the recipient's inbox.

Business Impact

The ability for an attacker to perfectly spoof an email from a trusted logistics provider is a critical threat. It would enable a wide range of devastating attacks:

• Business Email Compromise (BEC): Attackers could impersonate the CEO and email the finance department, requesting an urgent wire transfer to a fraudulent account. The email would look completely legitimate.
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• Targeted Phishing: Malicious emails could be sent to the company’s clients with fake invoices or password reset links, tricking them into sending money or revealing credentials.
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• Malware Distribution: Attackers could send emails with malicious attachments to employees or partners. Coming from a trusted domain, these emails would be far more likely to be opened.
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• Brand and Reputation Damage: If an attacker used the domain to send spam, the company’s official domain could be blacklisted by major email providers like Gmail and Outlook. This would cause their real, legitimate emails to fail, disrupting core business operations.
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Recommendations

• Implement SPF with Hard Fail (-all): Update the SPF record to use -all to reject all unauthorised senders.
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• Deploy DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Sign outgoing emails with DKIM to ensure authenticity and prevent tampering.
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• Enforce a Strict DMARC Policy: Configure DMARC with p=reject or p=quarantine and add rua and ruf tags for detailed reporting and visibility into spoofing attempts.
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• Monitor and Review DMARC Reports: Regularly review DMARC reports to detect and mitigate unauthorised email sources.
  
  

The SVigil Advantage: Proactive Protection that Pays Off

This incident underscores the value of continuous vendor and third-party risk monitoring. SVigil flagged and contained a high-impact vulnerability that could have affected thousands of transactions across multiple brands and industries. 

By discovering the vulnerability before malicious actors did, SVigil prevented real-time data manipulation, financial fraud, and broader system abuse.

In the world of digital trust, prevention isn’t just better — it’s priceless.

About CloudSEK
CloudSEK is a unified digital risk management platform that leverages AI and machine learning to deliver real-time threat intelligence, attack surface monitoring, and supply chain security across enterprises globally.