You have all the best tech to keep your data safe, but your people could be the weakest link. In phishing attacks, hackers often pose as employers, customers, colleagues, or suppliers, tricking employees into lowering their guard. Their aims range from encouraging your staff to inadvertently trigger a malware download, to revealing usernames and passwords or authorising payment of fraudulent accounts.
There are red flags to take note of, and it’s wise to train all employees on points to look out for. But sometimes, the signs that an email, phone call or text message shouldn’t be trusted are very subtle and a busy employee may miss them. So, how good are your employees at spotting phishing? You needn’t leave that question unanswered. You can find out for yourself.
Why Phishing Simulations are Crucial
A phishing simulation helps your business to test your employees’ vigilance against phishing. It simulates an attack using the same methods real scammers use. These range from the simple to the sophisticated.
In 2024, “deep fake” phishing scams using voice clones and even video were frequently reported. In one such case, $25 million was paid to a scammer. The employee had been suspicious, but authorised the payment after a video call in which he spoke to a person he believed to be his CFO.
Even the oldest forms of phishing are all-too often effective. For example, in July 2024, a Cancer Centre’s employees were tricked into revealing their credentials to an attacker after receiving emails from a hijacked internal email account. It asked them to log in to their accounts using a link that led to a fake web page. The login details of the employers who fell for the trick were later used to steal sensitive data.
These aren’t isolated incidents. In April 2024, UK police ended a phishing scam that had allowed bad actors to trick around 70,000 people, mostly “tech savvy” young people, and police authorities around the country reported a worrying increase in online crime.
The message is clear: phishing is an ever-growing threat and equipping your people to deal with it is vital to the safety and security of your organisation’s data. Phishing simulations not only test their ability to spot phishing, but offer a valuable learning opportunity.
What Happens in a Simulated Phishing Attack?
Simulated phishing attacks are carefully planned in consultation with cybersecurity experts. Organisations identify the types of phishing attacks they want to simulate. Realistic copies of real-life phishing attacks are crafted and launched and the cybersecurity team monitors how users interact with them. This data indicates the types of training users still need to receive and put into practice and helps organisations to understand and counter vulnerabilities.
Are Phishing Simulations Effective?
Phishing simulations are only a single component of security awareness training. However, they are very useful in showing employees how easy it is to fall for phishing. Feedback and training will help them to see how to spot and react to attacks.
Many organisations schedule periodic phishing attack simulations and test their employees using a variety of different approaches. Cybersecurity specialists are able to imitate the methods real cybercriminals use and engineer fake campaigns that, while harmless, look just like the real thing. This makes them a highly effective tool for assessing your team’s readiness in the event of an attack.
Following phishing simulations, many organisations uncover unpalatable results. For example, a university found that 44 percent of its employees fell for a phishing email and only 9 percent reported it. Research has shown that with appropriate feedback and training, these figures will improve.
However, there are caveats. Companies should be careful about weaponising phishing simulations so that employees are made to feel bad about being tricked. Instead, keep it positive and reinforce the fact that tests are there to build awareness and keep everyone safe online. They also shouldn’t use simulations and employee training as their only defence against phishing. Other technologies must be combined with awareness training to reduce vulnerability.
Key Features of Phishing Simulation Software
Since 91 percent of phishing attacks begin with an email, it’s often easiest to use a phishing simulator to create fairly straightforward email phishing attack simulations and assess basic user preparedness. This software must be able to create a realistic-looking fake attack, be easy to use, and come with analytics and training materials.
However, the greater the executive powers of the employee, the likelier they are to be targeted by highly sophisticated, carefully-engineered forms of phishing. With ill-gotten gains that could amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds, fraudsters are willing to go to a great deal of time and effort when preparing an attack. Simulating this means going to the same level of effort and individualisation and may go beyond emails.
Combating Phishing Requires a Holistic Approach
On their own, phishing simulations are not enough to safeguard your organisation from cyberattacks. According to the National Crime Agency, fraud now represents 40 percent of crimes in the UK and of course, much of it happens online. Training decision-makers, managers, and employees is a good start, but your strategies should also include elements like:
- Email filters and firewalls
- Email security protocols (DMARC)
- Multi-Factor Authentication
- Anti-phishing software
- Access control policies
- Data protection techniques
- Transaction verification procedures
- Monitoring and threat intelligence reports
- Security audits
Remember, wherever vulnerabilities lie, there will be someone looking out for them in the hope of exploiting them for financial gain. Advantex’s Cyber Security services can help. We have years of experience combating cyberthreats and we move with the times, responding to emerging threats and proactively looking for vulnerabilities. Put our focused teams and leading technologies to work for you.
Advantex provides bespoke online cyber awareness training programmes tailored to each employee’s skill level. These personalised programmes allow companies to monitor progress, identify areas for improvement, and address ongoing risks, transforming employees into a strong first line of defence. By reducing security incidents related to human error and building resilience against phishing attacks, our training helps foster a safer, more prepared workforce.
Contact us, arrange a meeting, or start with a demo to get an overview of what we can do for you.
