Simulation
November 7, 2025
PhishFirewall Team

What Is a Phishing Simulation? (And Why You Need It)

Everything you need to know about phishing simulations: how they work, why they are essential for security compliance, and how to run them responsibly.

Phishing simulations are practice drills for the digital world. Just as we run fire drills to prepare for a physical fire, we run phishing simulations to prepare for a cyberattack.

1Design

The platform creates a safe, fake phishing email (e.g., 'Password Expiring').

2Launch

The campaign is sent to employees at random times.

3Reaction

Does the user Report It (Win) or Click It (Fail)? Actions are tracked.

4Teachable Moment

If they click, they see an instant educational page explaining the red flags they missed.

Why Do It?

Active Learning: Reading is passive; experiencing the 'emotional hijack' is active.
Compliance: Required by SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and ISO standards.
Metric Tracking: You can't manage what you don't measure. Track your 'Phish-prone Percentage' over time.

Why Do It?

Reading about phishing is passive; experiencing it is active. The "emotional hijack" of almost falling for a scam creates a strong memory that improves future vigilance.

Compliance

Many regulations (SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001) either explicitly require or strongly imply the need for testing the effectiveness of your security training.

The Goal: Resilience, Not "Gotcha"

The purpose is not to trick employees or shame them. It is to build muscle memory so that when a real attack hits, their gut instinct is to pause, verify, and report.

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