Knowing that phishing attacks exist is the first step in defending your company from them. According to a Proofpoint report, nearly 90% of firms worldwide faced spear phishing attacks last year, with 55% of those attempts being successful. The good news is that we’re gaining a better understanding of this type of threat. One of our strongest defences against phishing is education, and the growing availability of effective phishing awareness training solutions is partly to blame for the drop in click rates and increase in reporting rates over the previous year. Cybercriminals are altering their phishing attempts as technology develops, making it more difficult for machines and humans to detect bogus messages. Traditional phishing emails send out mass emails to hundreds or even thousands of people at once. They’re made to persuade consumers to visit a website where they’ll be requested to provide personal information by clicking on a URL. Spear phishing emails are personalised and targeted. The attacker poses as a reliable source, appearing to know their victim, in order to gain trust from naïve users when they ask for sensitive information. Users can use crucial signs to assess whether an email is real or fake in both sorts of attacks. We’ll look at the top ten phishing awareness training solutions in this post, which are designed to turn employees into an extra layer of security against social-engineering attacks. These solutions provide a variety of engaging, learner-focused training materials that teach your staff how to recognise and report suspicious activity, as well as admin reports and realistic simulations to drill your employees on what they’ve learned. We’ll offer you some background on the supplier, as well as the essential characteristics of each solution and the type of customer for whom they’re most suited. The following are the top ten best phishing awareness training and simulation solutions:
ESET Cybersecurity Awareness Training
ESET is a market-leading cybersecurity company that provides a complete security platform to businesses all over the world. Their cybersecurity awareness training programme includes gamified training modules, phishing simulations, and user testing, as well as extensive administration and reporting features through the admin console. The interactive tasks in ESET’s phishing awareness training can be completed on-demand and at the user’s own leisure. Organizations can submit their own content, make quizzes, and alter current content with their brand logos, and content includes real-life scenarios, gamification, quizzes, and role-playing. Administrators can put their users to the test by launching simulated phishing campaigns using pre-built, customisable, and relevant templates from their library, or by constructing their own from start. Campaigns are simple to build and maintain, and administrators can test individual users and departments. For Office 365 users, ESET also includes a plugin that allows them to report any questionable emails, including simulated ones. Users who fail simulations by clicking on the links therein can be enrolled in refresher training automatically. On a single centralised dashboard, the technology also provides admins with powerful control and real-time reporting features. Users may get a summary of their course progress and enrollment, as well as phishing campaign analytics and reports, on the user-friendly dashboard. Overall, ESET’s phishing awareness training and phishing simulation product is simple to use and execute for both administrators and users. Users can be imported quickly and easily, with options to sync with Active Directory or manage via CSV. This programme is great for businesses searching for brief, yet useful, training because it is easy to access and only takes 90 minutes to complete. We recommend this application to businesses of all sizes because the phishing template library includes templates for banking, finance, healthcare, and other industries. The programme is best suited for firms based in the United States that want engaging security awareness content and powerful phishing simulations.
Barracuda PhishLine
Barracuda offers a full suite of multi-layered email, cloud, and network security solutions. Barracuda PhishLine is a live simulation and training programme that teaches users how to protect themselves against phishing, smishing, vishing, and found physical media attacks. Barracuda’s Complete Email Protection solution includes Sentinel, an AI-based technological solution that protects networks from spear phishing, account takeover, and business email compromise (BEC) assaults. PhishLine educates customers on the most recent attack strategies and teaches them how to spot important indicators in order to prevent email fraud, data loss, and brand damage. The simulation information provided by PhishLine is totally customisable, allowing businesses to personalise the training to the specific assaults they are encountering. You may send training invites to employees based on how they reacted to simulated phishing attempts thanks to a built-in workflow engine. PhishLine also has a built-in “Phish Reporting” button that employees can utilise to alert their IT department about questionable emails. This tool integrates smoothly with the training to integrate reporting, allowing businesses to target training to individuals who require it. Barracuda PhishLine’s multilingual training content is updated on a regular basis to ensure that organisations have the tools they need to combat ever-changing phishing attempts. It is an appropriate programme for smaller enterprises and MSPs searching for effective phishing protection, and it can be used alone or in conjunction with Barracuda’s technical email security solutions.
Hook Security PsySec Security Awareness Training
Essentials and Deep Dives are the two curricula that make up Hook’s PsySec training. The Essentials training is held once a year and includes general subjects that all employees should be familiar with. Phishing, password security, and working from home safely are among them. PsySec Deep Dives are offered on a monthly basis and are designed to make complicated topics more approachable. They accomplish this by employing scenario-based learning and engaging storylines. Employees receive a monthly single-video training that delves into a specific security topic in depth and immersively. PsySec also puts each user’s knowledge to the test with real-life phishing scenarios that may be customised. Employees who reply poorly to the simulation are redirected to a landing page that explains their mistake and shows them how to respond appropriately in the future. Admins can access simulation outcomes reports via the management portal, which can assist identify which employees need additional training and allow firms to track their overall improvement over time. These API reports are simple to integrate into existing SOCs and dashboards. PsySec is incredibly user-friendly thanks to the sophisticated automation behind its simulation and reporting features. PsySec is designed to meet CMMC and NIST compliance standards, and it checks all the boxes that any good training platform should, but it also goes above and beyond by providing genuinely entertaining learning materials. As a result, we suggest Hook Security’s PsySec as a solid platform for both small businesses and large corporations looking to turn their employees into cyber heroes.
Global Learning Systems
Global Learning Systems (GLS) provides a comprehensive set of security awareness training options. All of their products are scalable and extremely adaptable, allowing them to be fitted to a company’s unique requirements. GLS’ training solutions are all packed in user-friendly packages and supplied via their Learning Management System (LMS) to make programme creation, distribution, and tracking as simple as possible. GLS’s phishing awareness training teaches users how phishing attempts work and how to respond to them through interactive, scenario-based content. Users will find the training experience more interesting because to gamification and reward components, which will lead to improved levels of retention and understanding. GLS’ training solution is made up of four parts. The Essentials course teaches users how to recognise phishing attempts and puts them to the test. Users can apply what they’ve learned in a safe setting by using the Best Practice courses, which provide them real-life phishing scenarios. The anti-phishing movies make use of sophisticated graphics to deliver bite-sized information on phishing and ransomware, as well as how to respond to threats. Finally, GLS’ SecurePhish simulation tool evaluates users’ responses to targeted phishing tests and provides appropriate follow-up training. The programme can also be used by administrators to track user performance and provide reports based on test results. GLS content is accessible on smartphones, tablets, and traditional computers, making it suitable for digital businesses and those with a large number of remote employees. GLS’s solution is appropriate for enterprises of any size looking for a long-term training plan with continuing reinforcement because all of their content is adaptable and flexible.
Inspired eLearning
Enterprise security awareness and compliance training is available from Inspired eLearning (IeL). IeL’s training materials come in a variety of configurable bundles, and their app lets consumers access content whenever it’s convenient for them. IeL’s phishing awareness training solution called PhishProof. It was the first anti-phishing system to include all four phishing methods on one platform (phishing, vishing, smishing, and USB baiting). In one all-encompassing experience, PhishProof allows organisations to test, train, measure, and improve their phishing awareness and readiness. The curriculum begins with a Baseline Phishing Campaign that gives participants a Phishing Preparedness Score at the outset of their training. Users’ Preparedness Scores are re-evaluated as they complete further training and simulations, allowing them to track their progress conveniently. Admins can run simulation campaigns with randomised templates or tailor them to meet the demands of their company. The type of phish sent (URL, attachment, form submissions) and the amount of difficulty for each campaign can be customised (easy, medium, hard). If a user is phished successfully, PhishProof enrols them in the appropriate training programme. PhishHook, a built-in phishing reporting tool from PhishProof, is also available. This Outlook plugin allows users to mark mails as suspicious, rewarding them for recognising simulations while also alerting the security team about any external attacks. IeL’s PhishProof service is an excellent choice for any company looking for complete training on all four types of phishing attacks. Their app and customizability make their information accessible to businesses of all sizes, and their multilingual support ensures that different employee demographics can access it.
LUCY Security
LUCY Security allows companies to pretend to be an attacker in order to find flaws in their technological infrastructure as well as personnel knowledge. If flaws are discovered, LUCY’s all-encompassing solutions erase them. Through engaging, personalised material and assault simulations, LUCY’s security awareness training solutions develop a long-lasting culture of alertness. Over 200 interactive, web-based training modules are available in LUCY’s security awareness content collection, which firms can utilise to educate their personnel both online and offline. Employees may control their own learning journeys while admins can track their progress in real time because content is hosted in the LUCY LMS. All of LUCY’s content, including videos and gamified materials, is extremely customisable. Organizations can also generate their own new content and request customised materials from LUCY’s content team. In addition to their e-learning programme, Lucy offers a “safe learning environment” where employees may practise responding to phishing assaults in a realistic setting. Templates for SMS, corporate, ransomware, and spear phishing attacks, among others, are available in LUCY’s phishing simulators. Administrators can then aim the simulations at specific employees or groups of employees, and assign additional training based on their reactions. The training solution provided by LUCY Security is both entertaining and relevant. It’s available in over 30 languages and delivered through their own integrated LMS, making it a very accessible e-learning programme. LUCY’s solution is well-suited to any enterprise, regardless of size, that wants to build a culture of awareness among their employees and test their staff through assault simulations.
KnowBe4
In terms of revenue and customer count, KnowBe4 is the market leader in phishing awareness training and simulations. KnowBe4 put user involvement at the forefront of their security awareness products, with an emphasis on innovation. As a result, their training collection includes a wide range of content, such as films, games, and quizzes. Management and system administrators can also benefit from KnowBe4’s training. KnowBe4’s solution includes a number of free tools as well as a variety of training resources that may be purchased. Organizations can use KnowBe4’s Phish Alert button to evaluate their employees’ baseline awareness with a free simulated phishing attack and report questionable content. Outlook, Exchange, Microsoft 365, and G Suite are all supported by the button. The button will also track whether employees report simulated phishing emails if an employer invests in KnowBe4’s comprehensive Phishing console. Administrators can now monitor which users are falling prey to phishing scams. The interface provides users with access to tens of thousands of resources and training materials, as well as detailed training reporting to verify that all users complete both the training modules and the simulated phishing campaigns successfully. KnowBe4’s solution is geared for small to mid-sized businesses who want to combat the threat of phishing by providing intensive employee training. It’s worth noting that, in order to provide a holistic user experience, network administrators need have some prior knowledge of their chosen awareness subjects in order to effectively integrate these topics into their curriculum.
Infosec IQ is a security intelligence company.
Infosec is one of the most rapidly expanding security awareness companies. They offer skill training and certification, as well as a diverse range of employee training programmes. IQ is Infosec’s anti-phishing simulation, security awareness CBT, and role-based training all rolled into one. It’s a 12-month programme that motivates employees to embrace best practises and create a strong defence against phishing attempts. Security teams can use IQ PhishSim to create bespoke phishing campaigns from a large template library to teach staff how to deal with the most hazardous threats they face. To keep businesses on top of new and evolving risks, new templates are uploaded to the collection on a weekly basis. When an employee clicks on a phishing link, they are automatically directed to a brief training module that highlights where they went wrong, ensuring that training is delivered as soon as the error is discovered. PhishNotify, an email reporting plugin included with IQ PhishSim, enabling users to flag questionable emails from any device. The plugin keeps track of reported simulations and quarantines real hazards for learner reporting. These quarantined emails are then automatically prioritised to cut down on analysis time and organise answers by threat level. The phishing awareness training and simulation solution from Infosec is constantly evolving and diversifying to provide customised variations across all learning areas. Their solutions were designed for larger corporate firms, but they have expanded to meet the demands of any sized organisation, allowing smaller enterprises to access their spectrum of training, which can be adjusted to match their specific needs.
