Talos allows you to setup your own domain (or sub-domain) to send emails from, rather than use the default domain that emails are sent from, from the ATS.
Some settings are required to be setup with your IT team to facilitate this setup.
There are two options to be able to setup your domain with Talos, which are covered below:
Option 1 - Talos Control
We will be able to setup your email domain in our emailer platform, Mailgun, and provide the below records which need to be setup by your IT team in your DNS portal for your domain:
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
DKIM (Domain Key Identified Mail)
You can read more on SPF and DKIM records and what they are here.
Once the records have been setup by your IT team, we will be able to link this to your ATS which will send email from your domain.
We are also able to use a sub-domain if required, such as careers.yourdomain.com - this will send emails from the sub-domain instead when an email is sent from the ATS.
Note: your email address will need to match the domain that is being setup within the ATS to send emails from.
Multiple domains can be setup within your ATS to send emails from.
If we have setup the domain for you, we will be able to check the audit logs of emails that are sent from the ATS for you if required.
Option 2 - Own/3rd Party Control
If you currently utilise Mailgun, either internally or via a 3rd party and would like to use the same domain to send emails from Talos, then your IT team or 3rd party will need to complete the below steps:
Login to Mailgun and go to the Domain Settings of the domain and then click on 'SMTP Credentials' and then click on 'Add new SMTP User':
Create a new user and make note of the password securely - this will be needed later.
Next, click on 'Sending API Keys' and click on 'Add sending key':
Follow the on screen setup of the API Key and copy the key securely, as this will be needed later.
Note: a user will need access to the ‘System Administrator' permission on Talos to link the settings in the ATS.
In Talos, go to Mailgun Credentials and click on 'Add New Credentials':
Complete all of the fields on the 'Add New Mailgun Credentials' screen and then click on 'Save' to link your Mailgun credentials to the ATS:
Info: the Original Domain is the domain that is setup against users accounts in the ATS.
The Replacement Domain is the domain that will be used on the emails that are sent from Talos.
These domains can be the same if you are not using a sub-domain.
SPF and DKIM Records
SPF
SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework, and it is used for email authentication. It allows administrators of a domain, such as talos360.co.uk, to specify who is allowed to send email from that domain.
SPF helps email authentication, as it protects your email sending from spoofing attempts. SPF records will need to be added to the DNS portal of the domain – this needs to be done by the DNS Administrator of the domain.
SPF records keep track of sources that are allowed to send email from a domain. With this, it prevents unauthorized sources from being able to send emails from your domain (spoofing).
SPF records add security to the sending domain, by authenticating the IP addresses which are allowed to send from that domain.
As this adds security to the domain (to stop spoofing attempts) the reputation of your emails will also be safe. This ensures your domain does not end up on any deny lists for email sending, thereby causing email delivery issues.
If the email is not authorized as shown in the above flow, the email is not accepted by the recipient’s mail server, so the email will not be delivered.
Please see the below URL for a more in-depth description of what SPF is on Mailgun’s website:
DKIM
DKIM stands for Domain Keys Identified Mail. It is a form of email authentication and security where recipients of emails can confirm that you are the true sender of the email.
This can then ensure that nobody has tried to spoof your email domain when sending emails.
DKIM is the standard for email authentication in the ‘email world’. An email sent without DKIM and/or SPF can be considered as a suspicious email.
With DKIM a ‘DKIM Signature’ is added to the email header when it is sent. With this signature, recipients of emails can use this to verify the email is authenticated.
DKIM offers protection against spoofing and phishing attempts. As DKIM is an email authentication method, it also helps to protect a domains email reputation.
As emails can be verified, they are more likely to be trusted by recipient’s email servers when they are being processed.
Please see the below URL for a more in-depth description of what DKIM is on Mailgun’s website:
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