Are phishing simulations effective?
Short answer
Phishing simulations are effective only when paired with supportive training, fast reporting mechanisms, and technical email defenses. On their own, mock phishing exercises do not stop credential theft or social engineering attacks. They measure how employees respond to specific templates at a single moment in time. When organizations treat simulations as punitive tests rather than educational exercises, employees often hide mistakes instead of reporting genuine threats to security teams.
The details
A simulation program works best as a teaching tool rather than an administrative compliance metric. Organizations that succeed with simulated attacks provide immediate, constructive feedback when someone clicks. Punishing staff creates friction and reduces reporting rates. The primary goal of a simulation is not to drive click rates to zero, because well-crafted lures will always fool someone. Instead, the goal is training employees to use a simple reporting button so your security team gains early visibility into active campaigns.
Simulations cannot replace technical security controls. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework core functions encourage a layered defense that includes governance, identification, protection, and response. Technical controls—such as multi-factor authentication, email authentication protocols, and endpoint detection—must defend systems when an employee inevitably clicks a deceptive link. You can evaluate your training strategy using our guide on how to run a security awareness training program.
What to do
- Pair mock phishing emails with immediate, non-punitive explanations of the red flags present in the message.
- Provide a one-click reporting button directly in the email client to encourage rapid threat escalation.
- Enforce phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication to stop account takeover when users enter credentials on fake portals.
- Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to block spoofed domain messages before they reach user inboxes.
- Track reporting rates alongside click rates to evaluate employee vigilance accurately.
Useful next reads and tools
Terms explained
- Phishing
- Phishing is a fraudulent message, usually email, that impersonates a trusted sender to trick people into revealing credentials, paying money or running malware.
- HTTPS and TLS
- HTTPS is HTTP protected by TLS encryption, which keeps data between a browser and a website private and tamper-resistant and confirms the site controls its domain.
- Multi-factor authentication
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires two or more kinds of proof to sign in, such as a password plus an app prompt, security key or biometric unlock of a passkey.
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework
- The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 is voluntary guidance for managing cybersecurity risk, organized into six functions: Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover.
- Social engineering
- Social engineering is the manipulation of people, rather than technology, to gain access, information or money.