Email is the #1 attack vector.
90% of cyberattacks start with a phishing email — legacy gateways miss sophisticated social engineering
Email infrastructure sprawl: forwarding rules, aliases, distribution lists spread across multiple providers
DMARC, SPF and DKIM misconfiguration causes legitimate emails to land in spam
Business email compromise (BEC) bypasses traditional security by impersonating trusted senders
Email infrastructure on Cloudflare.
Email Routing setup
Consolidate email forwarding rules on Cloudflare. Custom addresses, catch-all routing, Workers-based processing — all without a mail server. We migrate from Google Workspace routing, Office 365 connectors or legacy forwarders.
Area 1 phishing protection
Pre-emptive email security that identifies phishing campaigns before they reach inboxes. ML-based analysis of sender reputation, link destinations and attachment behavior.
DMARC management
We configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC policies for your domains. Cloudflare DMARC Management provides visibility into email authentication failures and gradual enforcement.
Workers email processing
Custom email handling with Workers: auto-reply, routing based on content, spam filtering, webhook triggers. Programmable email at the edge.
Email scenarios we implement.
Custom domain email
Professional email addresses ([email protected]) forwarded to Gmail, Outlook or any provider. No mail server required.
Phishing protection
Block credential harvesting, BEC and impersonation attacks before they reach employees. Integrates with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
DMARC compliance
Achieve DMARC enforcement (p=reject) without breaking legitimate email flows. Gradual rollout with monitoring and reporting.
Automated email workflows
Workers-based processing: parse incoming email, trigger webhooks, create tickets, route to departments based on content or headers.
Email security architecture.
Cloudflare processes email at multiple layers — from DNS-level routing through ML-based threat detection to Workers-based custom processing — all before mail reaches your mailbox provider.
Cloudflare email security vs. alternatives.
How Cloudflare Area 1 and Email Routing compare to Proofpoint, Mimecast and Microsoft Defender for email security.
| Capability | Cloudflare Area 1 | Proofpoint | MS Defender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection approach | Pre-emptive crawling | Reactive (signatures) | Reactive + ML |
| BEC detection | Yes (ML-based) | Yes | Yes (limited) |
| Deployment | Inline or API (5 min) | MX swap (days) | Built-in (M365) |
| Email routing | Yes (integrated) | No (separate) | Exchange rules |
| DMARC management | Yes (built-in) | No (3rd party) | No |
| Workers processing | Yes (programmable) | No | No |
| Custom forwarding | Yes (rules + Workers) | No | Limited |
| Pricing | Included (CF enterprise) | Per-user enterprise | Per-user M365 E5 |
Our email security implementation.
A gradual, risk-free approach to securing your email infrastructure — from monitoring through full enforcement.
DNS & Routing Setup
Configure MX records, Email Routing rules and forwarding addresses. Verify delivery to all destinations. No disruption to existing email flow.
DMARC Monitoring
Deploy DMARC in monitor mode (p=none). Collect authentication reports for 4–6 weeks. Identify all legitimate senders and configure SPF/DKIM for each.
Area 1 Deployment
Enable Area 1 phishing protection — inline or via API. Monitor detection rates, review quarantined messages, tune policies. Train admin team on dashboard.
DMARC Enforcement
Gradually move DMARC from none → quarantine → reject. Monitor for false positives at each stage. Full enforcement with ongoing monitoring and reporting.
Frequently asked questions.
Can Cloudflare replace our email provider?
Cloudflare Email Routing handles forwarding and processing — not mailbox hosting. You keep Gmail, Outlook or your existing provider. Cloudflare sits in front, routing and securing email before delivery.
How does Area 1 differ from a traditional email gateway?
Traditional gateways react to known threats (signatures, blocklists). Area 1 proactively crawls the internet to identify phishing infrastructure days before campaigns launch. It catches threats that gateways miss — especially targeted BEC attacks.
Will DMARC enforcement break our email?
Not with our approach. We deploy DMARC in monitor mode (p=none) first, identify all legitimate senders over 4-6 weeks, configure SPF/DKIM for each, then gradually move to quarantine and finally reject. Zero disruption to legitimate email.
Ready to get started with Cloudflare Email Routing & Security?
Book a free assessment call with our Cloudflare engineering team.