Armed and Ready: Phishing Simulation Tool Aims to Raise Employee Awareness of Cyberattacks

The new simulation tool is available to companies as of today and seeks to provide businesses with the ability to visualise employees’ resistance to targeted phishing attacks at team level; conducted within a safe and controlled environment.

“We are delighted to be adding this exciting new product to our current portfolio of awareness training tools”, said Carolin Andree, co-CEO of Increase Your Skills. “The ability for companies to test employee responses to social engineering attacks is an invaluable training method and one that not only seeks to analyse weaknesses in the company but also in the long-term protects sensitive company data and financial assets.”

The phishing tool offers users the ability to initiate various attack scenario templates or create more targeted customised industry-specific attack scenarios. The accompanying reporting tool then presents data on the attack simulation’s success, with feedback taking place at the teams’ level, not for the individual employee. If the evaluation campaign reveals deficits in the team’s response, companies can implement appropriate measures; particularly security training and a follow-up campaign. The goal is to ensure an adequate security awareness level throughout the company and maintain this level long term.

“Our customers have come to associate our products with user-friendliness and engagement. We are proud to say that this new addition is no different in adhering to this philosophy. We look forward to hearing what our customers think about this new product and welcome feedback from all participants”, Aramís Concepción Durán, Software Developer of Increase Your Skills, added.

In the last year alone there have been many high-profile phishing attacks across the spectrum of service providers, with Microsoft proving most popular for impersonation by attackers with the aim of harvesting user’s information. However, the range of providers extends from social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, to even more threatening impersonation attacks in the form of payment providers such as PayPal.

“The pandemic has presented cybercriminals an extended opportunity to exploit remote workers, playing on human fears and anxieties to gain control of sensitive information and data”, Hannes Hartung, co-CEO of Increase Your Skills, added. “The 667% increase in COVID-19 related phishing scams in one month alone last year, as well as the fact that 99% of malware distributed emails require human intervention, further seeks to highlight the drastic need for companies to reassess their internal company security defences.”

The phishing attack simulator is the latest addition to the several successful information and data protection courses available from the company. They continue to help companies across all industries adequately prepare their workers with awareness training and develop a robust security strategy.