
Nicole A. Renderos Pomeroy
Security Analyst
It has become increasingly important for small and medium-sized businesses to be able to effectively deal with phishing training and testing challenges. Five tools available for companies to implement for this purpose are PhishingBox, Lucy, KnowBe4, Wuvavi, and PhishProtection. All five products offer phishing simulation and training programs. Most of them can be used on any device and can be completed at any time. These tools offer simulations that train employees to tell the difference between real emails and phishing attempts. They also notify the administrator if an employee fails a test, and gives employees the opportunity to be retrained on certain areas where they failed. Most of these tools are mobile friendly since they are web-based, therefore making it easier for employees to practice on their phones when they have time, rather than practicing on a computer. The tools that notify the administrator are very useful, but those that automatically enroll any employees who fail a test to be trained again help the administrator not to miss any details.
It has become increasingly important for small and medium-sized businesses to be able to effectively deal with phishing training and testing challenges. Five tools available for companies to implement for this purpose are PhishingBox, Lucy, KnowBe4, Wuvavi, and PhishProtection. All five products offer phishing simulation and training programs. Most of them can be used on any device and can be completed at any time. These tools offer simulations that train employees to tell the difference between real emails and phishing attempts. They also notify the administrator if an employee fails a test, and gives employees the opportunity to be retrained on certain areas where they failed. Most of these tools are mobile friendly since they are web-based, therefore making it easier for employees to practice on their phones when they have time, rather than practicing on a computer. The tools that notify the administrator are very useful, but those that automatically enroll any employees who fail a test to be trained again help the administrator not to miss any details.
It has become increasingly important for small and medium-sized businesses to be able to effectively deal with phishing training and testing challenges. Five tools available for companies to implement for this purpose are PhishingBox, Lucy, KnowBe4, Wuvavi, and PhishProtection. All five products offer phishing simulation and training programs. Most of them can be used on any device and can be completed at any time. These tools offer simulations that train employees to tell the difference between real emails and phishing attempts. They also notify the administrator if an employee fails a test, and gives employees the opportunity to be retrained on certain areas where they failed. Most of these tools are mobile friendly since they are web-based, therefore making it easier for employees to practice on their phones when they have time, rather than practicing on a computer. The tools that notify the administrator are very useful, but those that automatically enroll any employees who fail a test to be trained again help the administrator not to miss any details.
Phishing is common and dangerous. Employees within small and medium businesses are not always trained to recognize and handle phishing attempts. Many employees fall for phishing emails and phishing websites, which results in private information becoming exposed. This can also lead to a business being hacked. A new company may not have employees who are trained in phishing or who know how to mitigate against a possible attack. There are tools that businesses can use and implement to train employees on phishing. These tools have tests that can determine how a business’s system reacts to phishing attempts. Such training tools allow employees to learn how to recognize phishing and how to handle it.
PhishingBox is a phishing training and testing tool that helps businesses train employees to become aware of phishing. It can be used by small or medium-sized businesses to help train and test employees on phishing, social engineering, and more. PhishingBox offers Security Awareness Training and a Phishing Simulator. The Security Awareness Training service offers training security courses, realistic phishing testing, real-time training moments, course programs, and security tips. This service also features third-party content, auto-enrollment, training moments, analytics, integrations, and web-hooks. Its features allow it to be easier and more efficient for the business. The Integrations allow businesses to deploy or maintain the PhishingBox system. Finally, the web-hook informs the administrators when someone fails a test.
The Phishing Simulator offers Target & Group Management, Mobile-Friendly for All Devices, Phishing Template Editor & Library, PhishingBox integration with many Learning Management Systems (LMS), Phishing Reporting, and Repeat Testing & Continuing Education. These web-based features allow businesses to be used on all devices, measure employee aptitude and progress, build and customize phishing templates, import and flag employees for training, report on tests, and repeat testing to continue improvement. The price for this tool is typically $20 per seat, which can be paid monthly or yearly.
Lucy is a cybersecurity tool that can be used by organizations to better improve security using phishing and awareness training. Lucy offers Attack Simulation, Awareness and Training, and Automatic Incident Analysis. The Attack Simulation tests with portal media attacks, smishing, data entry attacks, hyperlink attacks, mixed attacks, and more. Each type of phishing attack is used in the attack simulation in order to teach employees about every type of attack that could possibly occur. The Awareness and Training feature allows businesses to train employees based on their required skills, view employee courses and progress, reward employees with diplomas, and more. The Automatic Incident Analysis feature is used to automatically respond when there are suspicious emails or phishing threats in general. This feature makes it easy for the business to respond to possible threats while the employees are training. All three of these features are very useful – they teach employees how to mitigate phishing threats. Lucy costs $960 for the starter edition for 1 year, which is most suitable for small businesses. This edition does not offer all the features the Service Provider has, but it is suitable for companies wanting to provide their customers with white labeled products. Lucy is efficient and useful for small businesses that want to train employees on phishing and awareness.
KnowBe4 is a tool that helps businesses train and test employees on phishing and awareness. KnowBe4 offers PhishER, Free Phishing Tools, and Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training. The PhishER feature rapidly identifies and responds to email threats. PhishER comes with Automatic Message Prioritization, Emergency Rooms, Simple and Advanced Rule Creation, PhishML™, and more. All of these features organize emails automatically, identify similar messages reported, create custom rooms, and provide email information to decide on the prioritizations. They make it easier to stay organized and inform on threats more quickly than other tools.
KnowBe4 also offers free tools, which are: Phishing Security Test, Phishing Reply Test, Phish Alert Button, Second Chance, and Social Media Phishing Tests. In order to use these tests, signing up with the website is required. Any company that signs up with KnowBe4 is able to use these tests to start protecting against phishing. Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training allows administrators to train and test employees using a Phishing Simulator. Results that accompany the training and testing allow companies to see the progress and skill levels of all their employees. This tool features unlimited use, smart groups, custom phishing pages, advanced reporting, and more. Employees are able to train with unlimited time and be placed into groups based on behavior and attributes. The administrators can also customize phishing tests to better train their employees based on their skill level. KnowBe4 costs $23 per seat with a Diamond option, which is the most popular, for 1 year with the PhishER $10 add-on for small or medium businesses with 101-500 seats.
Wuvavi is a phishing and training tool that can help businesses improve on phishing mitigation and awareness. Wuvavi offers Phishing Simulations, Employee Cybersecurity Training, and Monitoring. The Phishing Simulations offer unlimited use, multiple campaigns, track activity, alerts, automated enrollment, and bulk enrollment. The Phishing Simulator can track employee activity, as well as their test results. It also alerts the administrators of any high risk employees who are likely to compromise the company during a phishing attack. Once the employees complete their training, they are automatically enrolled into a campaign, which tests the employees on what they have learned. The Employee Cybersecurity Training offers Instant Rollout, Managed Training, Employee Convenience, Optimized Content, Reports and Progress, and Compliance Certifications. These features allow administrators to send invitations to employees to enroll, as well as allow them to complete the training anywhere, at any time, on any device in under 40 minutes. The employees are also given certificates to show that they have completed the training. This provides more motivation to complete the training; it also helps them improve weak areas. The monitoring feature allows administrators to monitor and track all employees to see their skill levels and who may pose a bigger threat to the company. Wuvavi costs $7 per user monthly for the standard option.
PhishProtection is the last phishing training and awareness tool on the list. It can be used by small and medium businesses to train employees on phishing awareness and mitigation. PhishProtection offers Phishing Training Courses, Phishing Simulation, and Streamline Training. The Phishing Training Courses include Phishing 101, Social Engineering 101, and Infosec 101. These courses are available to employees on any device, so they can complete them anywhere and at any time. The administrators can also monitor and track each employee’s progress every minute. If an employee fails a phishing test, they are automatically enrolled in training. It also reveals the employees with the highest threat to the company. The Phishing Simulation features comprehensive reports, mobile-friendly simulation, and learning management support. The simulation allows the administrator to view all employee data and how employees are doing during the tests. The Streamline Training allows the employees to start the basics of cybersecurity awareness and then progress to advanced concepts by using a streamline method. A company can train 5 users for free before deciding to purchase this product. PhishProtection prices range from free to $3,800 between 5-500 users yearly.
Comparing Products:
All five of these phishing tools have similar features even with reselling. PhishingBox allows partners to set their own pricing for their software. Lucy has three different types of partner options that give discounts to the partners. KnowBe4 offers profitable margins to their partners, and more. Wuvavi offers a simple pricing model. Lastly, PhishProtection offers a partner program that can help improve revenue. These partner programs have many benefits in common with whitelabel pricing, partner training, and profitable margins. Many companies have partnered with each of these tools to help mitigate against phishing.
Phishing Training and Testing Products | Phishing Simulation | Training | Monitoring and Analysis | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
PhishingBox | Phishing Simulator | Security Awareness Training | Integrations | $20 per seat monthly or yearly |
Lucy | Attack Simulation | Awareness and Training | Automatic Incident Analysis | $960 starter edition for 1 year |
KnowBe4 | PhishER | Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training | Free Phishing Tools | $23 per seat with Diamond option for 1 year with PhishER $10 add-on |
Wuvavi | Phishing Simulation | Employee Cyber Security Training | Monitoring | $7 per user monthly |
PhishProtection | Phishing Simulation | Phishing Training Courses | Advanced Reporting | Free-$3,800 yearly between 5-500 users |
Conclusion
Each of these five tools are useful and effective to help mitigate against phishing. They all:
- Have simulation labs that can train employees to distinguish between real emails and phishing emails.
- Have similar phishing simulation and training programs.
- Help mitigate against phishing and are helpful when training all employees.
With the risk of insider threats, these tools can help train and pinpoint any threats to the company. Whether an employee accidentally gives away private information or does so deliberately, these five tools can help train employees to be aware of real insider threats.
Many people fall for phishing attempts thinking they are real. That is the reason these products are highly recommended. Even taking the free practice tests on the websites of these tools can show how much training a person needs in order to tell the difference between a real email and a phishing email. Due to the number of features offered, PhishingBox is the tool most recommended. The Security Awareness Training, Phishing Simulator, and integrations are all top-quality features. In addition, the training security courses, realistic phishing testing, real-time training moments, course programs, and security tips features all provide the best preparation for handling phishing attacks. Since this service also features third-party content, auto-enrollment, training moments, analytics, integrations, and web-hook, employees get a great deal of practice and gain knowledge on phishing beyond just looking out for emails. Although it is $20 per seat, it brings the best quality training and phishing simulators to train employees on becoming experts on phishing. Businesses can appreciate this type of tool since it can provide the valuable training needed for employees to mitigate against phishing attempts and attacks. Use these tools protect your business!
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About the Author
Nicole is a senior completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Cybersecurity and Forensics at the University of Maryland Global Campus. She currently interns for a Cybersecurity company called Conquest Security. Nicole chose this career because she has a dedicated enthusiasm for security. She is eager to learn how to secure private information so that she can subsequently help others keep their information secure. After graduating, Nicole would like to pursue the Security+ and CEH certifications to expand her skills and knowledge. She is planning to become a Cybersecurity Analyst, which will allow her to implement her accumulated knowledge and experience to further both her career and her passion for cybersecurity.