A Comprehensive Guide to Phishing Simulations

The Concept of Phishing Simulations

Employee data breaches are a common problem, and many compromises are unintentional. Most employees have little technological understanding and can easily fall for phishing attempts. These individuals don’t know how to differentiate between a threat and a normal email.

Therefore, phishing simulations are tests forwarded by the companies to randomly test employee capabilities to differentiate the phishing attempts from other emails. These tests play a vital role in the overall security of the company. The organization remains at risk, regardless of how secure it is inside if the employees don't have training.

 With phishing simulations, cyber security awareness strategies are more effective, allowing professionals to better assess the right email from a fake one. When the organization exposes the employees to phishing emails, they better recognize and respond to actual attacks whenever they arise.

Therefore, the employees don't put company assets at risk because of phishing threats. These employees can either avoid these threats themselves or let professionals handle them by addressing them in advance. With phishing simulations, companies can safely provide cyber security threat training for employees without the chance of a scam in this process.

Why Phishing Simulations are Necessary

Most of these phishing simulations are designed by IT professionals and are the first step toward better cybersecurity awareness campaigns. The results from these simulations identify the training every employee requires. 

These simulations are also ideas for post-training strategy to see if the employees have learned something valuable from the phishing sessions.

Statistics reveal 81% of organizations experienced phishing attacks back in 2021. The number increased in 2022 and will likely do the same in 2023. In such situations, a knowledgeable and well-trained workforce serves as the first line of defense.

How Phishing Simulations Work

The best phishing simulations are the ones that ideally replicate one from real case attacks. However, the template and landing page used in these emails should be as accurate and realistic. For example, there’s a variety of different corporate email themes that may include the following:

• Password reset
• HR communications
• Bank details

With these emails, the employees better identify the right emails from the wrong ones. They can decide whether one should click on links, determining the overall experience.

Organizations can always change the material and look of these emails from time to time. Recurrent testing makes it easier to find if the employees are up to date. Some of the themes you can experiment with in these phishing simulations include the following:

• Special holidays
• COVID-related information
• company-sponsored events

The right tool for running phishing simulations can also help you make the right themes that your employees or other users are likely to fall for. The right phishing simulation tools can also recalibrate their approaches based on different departments. 

The attackers try their best to personalize the phishing attempts, and as testers, the organizations should do the same.

Using a phishing simulation tool makes one's job easier by providing flexible templates, unique content, and new emails every time. Some tools have easy customizability, making them ideal for clients looking for better exposure.

1. Transparency
2.  Empathy
3.  Context And Beyond
4.  Awareness Is Key.

Organizations are at risk, regardless of how secure it is inside, if the employees don't have training.

1. Transparency

Phishing attacks are pretty complicated if you think about it. Individuals that use these attacks try to be as discrete and sneaky as possible. Therefore, the company should inform their employees about a potential phishing simulation shortly.

Sudden testing may create resentment among the workforce, putting the efficiency of future projects at risk. Since these tests are to educate and not trick the workforce, transparency is a great idea.

2. Empathy

As an organization owner, you may have a good idea of how to avoid phishing attempts. However, to educate others, you must put yourself in their shoes and see things from their perspective. Phishing attempts that seem too obvious may be unrealistic for some individuals. Therefore, you should patiently train these individuals as needed.

Moreover, blaming the tested individuals can also worsen the situation. These people need your support to better understand phishing attempts. If the phishing attempts belittle those who do not ace them, getting favorable outcomes becomes challenging.

3. Context and Comprehension

A major reason why the workforce fails to understand the idea of phishing simulation is that they don't know the context. With technical understanding, it becomes easier for an employee to understand the phishing intent and better counter it when needed.

Lesser follow-up and isolated simulations are the primary reasons these approaches are not always as effective. These simulations don't last long, putting the approach at risk. Moreover, these campaigns extend from a single session to persistent training to improve client behavior.

Planning and communication is the key to successful phishing simulations, which is why planning them with comprehension and the workforce perspective makes a huge difference. If the phishing simulations have subjectivity, it will be a problem.

However, understanding the reasons behind these phishing simulations has made a huge impact. For example, the ones preparing the tests should consider why these phishing attempts occur.

Additionally, some employees may not fully understand how drastic these phishing attempts are. They ignore the notorious links if they don’t open them.

4. Awareness is Key

Phishing provides proper simulation, helping identify improvement areas within a working infrastructure. The easiest way is to add personalized security and training awareness.

People respond differently to these phishing attacks depending on their understanding and awareness. However, by personalizing the approach, the professionals can better cater to the client's needs without endangering them in any way whatsoever.

To get the best results for cyber security, adopting a helpful and supportive approach is the only way out. The designers should avoid the blame game and find solutions with a result-oriented approach.

How can you make Phishing Simulations Easier?

Phishing simulations are pretty complex and require testing and trials in advance. The phishing simulations have to be as life-like as possible to ensure the workforce can counter any kind of problem whatsoever. However, calibrating a unique phishing simulation every time can be a little challenging.

Fortunately, you can always go for phishing simulation tools. These tools are designed specifically for certain situations and focus on training individuals with the most complex situation. They make phishing simulations effective, easier, and simpler.

However, the kind of phishing simulation tool you choose makes a lot of difference in your overall experience. A great choice for your next simulation session is SafeTitan. It is a dedicated phishing simulation tool that offers some of the most fantastic features for its clients.

SafeTitan: The Best Phishing Simulation Tool

SafeTitan is designed to help companies, individuals, and organizations better test phishing with personalized options for clients. Here are some of the most popular offerings by SafeTitan you can benefit from.

• Simple Setup & Migration
• Security Awareness Training
• SafeTitan MSPs Demo
• SafeTitan for MSPs
• Reporting
• Real-Time Intervention Training
• Protection from Advanced Email Threats
• Phishing Simulation
• MSP Dashboard
• MSP client reporting 
• Integrations
• Gamification
• Cyber Knowledge Assessments
• Compliance
• Behavior-Driven Security Awareness
• Advanced Security Layer

Request a SafeTitan Demo

SafeTitan is the only behavior-driven security awareness platform that delivers security training in real time. You can start today by booking a free SafeTitan Security Awareness Training demonstration with an expert.