Guide on Conducting a Phishing Scam Simulation in Academic Institutions

Guide on Conducting a Phishing Scam Simulation in Academic Institutions

Universities, like any other institution, are not immune to cyber threats. One of the most prevalent forms of these threats is phishing, which accounted for 90% of all data breaches worldwide in 2021. To combat this, universities can implement a phishing simulation program as part of their broader cybersecurity strategy.

Planning the Simulation

The planning phase is crucial in setting up a successful phishing simulation. This phase involves reconnaissance and target identification, defining objectives and scope, and developing realistic phishing scenarios.

During the reconnaissance and target identification stage, universities gather information about their users and infrastructure through passive sources like publicly available data from social media and active methods such as network scanning. This helps identify potential phishing targets.

The next step is to decide which user groups, such as faculty, staff, or students, will be tested and what behaviors are most critical to assess, like credential harvesting or clicking links. With this information, universities can create convincing phishing emails tailored to their context, using tools like Gophish or AI-driven email generators.

In the final planning stage, universities establish measurable outcomes such as click rates, credential submissions, reporting rates, and time to recognize phishing.

Executing the Simulation

Once the planning is complete, the simulation can be launched. This involves sending the crafted phishing emails or messages to the identified targets, monitoring response rates, and identifying compromised accounts. It's essential to ensure no real damage occurs during this phase.

Immediate feedback and training are provided to users who fall for the simulation, reinforcing safe behaviors. This education is part of a continuous security awareness program that iterates with regular simulations and training.

During the execution phase, universities also use multi-layered defenses including advanced email filters (DMARC, DKIM, SPF) and network monitoring to detect simulation interactions and possible real threats, ensuring alerts and logging support incident follow-up.

Integrating and Improving the Simulation

After the execution, universities analyze the results and report them to university leadership and cybersecurity teams. Based on these findings, they update policies, controls, and technical defenses. The phishing simulation is then embedded in the broader cybersecurity strategy, aligning with risk assessments and frameworks like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

To maintain a continuous improvement cycle, universities repeat simulations periodically to track progress and reinforce training while staying updated on emerging phishing techniques such as AI-based attacks.

Key Components

• Target scope, scenario design: Use reconnaissance tools and AI phishing email generators.
• Launch campaigns, real-time monitoring: Utilize Gophish, spam/phishing filters, and endpoint tools.
• Analyze results, update policies, train: Leverage SIEM, NIST framework integration, and continuous training.

By following these steps, universities can create a robust, realistic phishing simulation program that enhances users' security awareness, improves technical defenses, and integrates tightly with their overall cybersecurity strategy.

Institutions should run phishing simulations regularly to maintain awareness and track improvement over time, and update content to reflect emerging cyber threats. They should also collaborate across departments to ensure that cybersecurity education reaches every segment of the university community. After the simulation, IT teams analyze user behavior by role and department to identify which groups clicked on phishing links or failed to report suspicious messages more often.

Phishing simulations should be integrated with broader efforts such as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, student orientation programs, or IT help desk messaging. Universities should maintain records of simulation outcomes to identify recurring issues, benchmark improvements, and adapt training materials to meet evolving user needs.

Finally, universities should share the results of the phishing simulations in a constructive, non-punitive way. For those who struggled during the simulation, short and practical training modules can reinforce key lessons, such as how to verify sender addresses, inspect hyperlinks, or report phishing attempts.

1. As part of their cybersecurity strategy, universities should design realistic phishing scenarios using tools like Gophish and AI-driven email generators, taking into account potential targets and critical behaviors to assess.
2. To continuously improve cybersecurity awareness, universities should provide immediate feedback and training to users who fall for the phishing simulation, while monitoring and analyzing the results to update policies, controls, and technical defenses, and integrating these findings into their overall risk management strategy.
3. In the execution phase, universities should employ multi-layered defenses, such as advanced email filters and network monitoring, to detect simulation interactions and possible real threats, ensuring alerts and logging support incident follow-up.

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