Phishing attacks are an ever-present cyber threat for businesses of all sizes and industries. According to data cited by Small Business Trends, “1 in every 99 emails is a phishing attack. And this amounts to 4.8 emails per employee in a five-day work week. Considering close to a third or 30% [of] phishing emails make it past default security, the threat is very much present.”
It only takes one careless click by an employee in your organization for a phishing email attack to work. Despite the risk, many organizations don’t have a plan for how to stop phishing attacks. This is where phishing simulation services can prove to be invaluable.
But first, let's back up and look at the whole picture. What is phishing? What is a phishing simulation? How can phishing email tests help protect your company from phishing attacks? Let’s start with a quick explanation of phishing and the risks posed by this type of cyberattack.
Phishing is a type of “social attack strategy” where the attacker sends fraudulent communications to someone to trick them into taking an action such as clicking on a malware link, surrendering sensitive info, or approving a phony invoice.
There are many types of phishing attacks, and they can be delivered via different communication channels such as emails, text messages, voicemails, and social media messages. Some phishing attack examples include:
These are just a few of the phishing strategies that you may encounter. To learn more about phishing, check out the phishing page by KnowBe4!
What many phishing attack strategies rely on is the ignorance or lack of caution from the people who receive these bogus communications. Strong cybersecurity awareness and heightened caution towards unsolicited communications can help prevent phishing attacks from succeeding.
This is where phishing simulation services can help!
A phishing simulation is a service offered by some managed security service providers (MSSPs). The service provider either uses a software program to create fake phishing messages or makes them manually based on real-world examples.
Simulated phishing attacks are used to test your organization’s employees—seeing who can or cannot recognize a fake message sent by a malicious actor. Employees who fail the phishing test can be sent a message letting them know that they fell for a phishing attempt. You can also arrange additional cybersecurity education and awareness training for employees who fall for the phishing email test.
Phishing attacks target the weakest link in any cybersecurity chain: the people who use your IT assets. By tricking your network’s users into downloading malware, giving away login details, or banking/payment info, phishers can commit all kinds of fraud with ease.
Simulated phishing email tests can help strengthen your cybersecurity by:
Is your organization protected against phishing attacks? Make sure by using ideaBOX’s simulated phishing service now!