A leading manufacturer of industrial parts, faced a growing concern – phishing attacks. With a rise in cybercrime, they knew their employees were potential targets. They partnered with The Expert Community for Cybersecurity Services to conduct a phishing attack simulation exercise.
The Challenge
They lacked a clear understanding of its employees’ awareness to phishing scams. They wanted to:
- Identify employees vulnerable to phishing tactics.
- Gauge overall cybersecurity awareness within the organization.
- Develop targeted training programs to address weaknesses.
Solution
At Expert Community, our cybersecurity experts designed a multi-phased phishing simulation exercise. Here are they…
Planning & Customization: In collaboration with organization, we crafted realistic phishing emails mimicking common tactics like:
Spoofed sender: Emails seemingly from IT or HR departments.
Urgent requests: Pressuring employees to click links for critical updates or password resets (never done via email).
Fake login pages: Designed to look identical to legitimate company login portals.
Campaign Launch: The simulated emails were sent to a targeted group of employees, excluding those already undergoing cybersecurity training.
Monitoring & Reporting: The Community monitored employee behavior. Click-through rates and attempted logins on fake pages identified vulnerable individuals.
The Results
- 20% of employees clicked on suspicious links, highlighting the need for training.
- Several employees entered credentials on the fake login pages, indicating a critical gap in recognizing phishing attempts.
The simulation sparked crucial conversations within the organization:
Security Awareness Training: We developed targeted training modules based on the simulation results, focusing on identifying red flags in phishing emails and secure login practices.
Open Communication: The organization leader openly discussed the exercise with employees, emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity and encouraging them to report suspicious emails.
The phishing simulation was a turning point for the organization. It:
The exercise identified areas needing improvement in employee cybersecurity awareness.
Training equipped employees to recognize and report phishing attempts, making them the first line of defense.
Open communication initiated a culture of security within the organization.
Phishing simulations are a valuable tool for any business. They expose weaknesses and allow for targeted training, ultimately saving your organization from costly data breaches and reputational damage.
If you’ve been struggling with same issue and looking for the right cybersecurity solution. We at The Expert Community offer tailored cybersecurity services to help your business navigate the challenges.
Connect with us to discuss a customized phishing simulation exercise and build a culture of security within your organization.
