phishing simulation
Fidem’s simulated phishing campaigns are a vital stress test that measures how permeable a company is to social engineering. Through realistic, operational attack vectors we measure and strengthen the real security posture of companies across Italy and Europe.
What Phishing Is
Phishing is a cyberattack technique that tries to obtain sensitive information through fake emails or websites. There are several variants, such as smishing, which uses SMS messages, and vishing, which uses phone calls to collect personal data. All of them aim to trick the user into giving access to confidential information.
Why Run a Phishing Campaign
Running simulated phishing campaigns tests employees’ cyber awareness and identifies the human vulnerabilities in company security. It shows how users react to deception attempts and improves their ability to recognize real threats.
Benefits of Phishing Campaigns
Phishing campaigns improve staff readiness and reduce the risk of successful attacks. They provide useful data to build targeted training programs and raise collective awareness, protecting the company from financial and reputational damage.
How does it work?
- Phishing emails appear to come from trusted sources, such as banks or colleagues, to deceive the user.
- Phishing messages often include malicious attachments that infect the user's device when opened.
- Attackers send fake links that redirect to cloned websites to harvest credentials.
- Attackers create urgency, pushing the user to act quickly without thinking.
Realistic Phishing Attack Simulation
Fidem’s anti-phishing campaigns simulate real phishing attacks to test the resilience of the human factor, the first and most frequent compromise vector in organizations of every size. According to industry data, more than 80% of data breaches start with a successful phishing email. Our service identifies behavioral vulnerabilities and provides targeted training to close the gaps.
Campaign Methodology
Each campaign is designed for the client and replicates the techniques used by real attackers. Our social engineering team builds credible phishing scenarios based on organization-specific OSINT: emails that imitate internal communications, notifications from services the company really uses, or urgent requests tied to company events. We use advanced spoofing techniques, cloned landing pages and custom payloads.
Types of Test
We offer several types of campaign: standard phishing emails (malicious links, attachments), spear phishing (attacks targeted at specific individuals), vishing (phone phishing), smishing (SMS phishing) and Business Email Compromise (impersonation of executives or suppliers). The choice depends on the organization’s risk profile and on the goals of the test.
Metrics and Analytics
The campaign platform produces granular data: email open rate, click-through rate on malicious links, credential submission rate, average time to report, breakdown by department and role. These metrics identify the most vulnerable teams and tailor the training that follows.
Post-Campaign Training
Every campaign includes dedicated training sessions: analysis of the mistakes made (without naming and shaming), recognizing phishing indicators, correct reporting procedures and best practices for verifying suspicious communications. Training is integrated with the Cyber Awareness program for continuous improvement.
To launch a simulated phishing campaign in your organization, contact us.
Why simulate a phishing attack
Because it is the only way to know how the organization really reacts, instead of assuming it. The data you get is not how many people make mistakes: it is where the process breaks down, who clicks, who gives away credentials and, above all, who reports.
How realistic they should be
As realistic as a real attack, but never humiliating. A simulation that is too easy measures nothing; one that exploits personal levers destroys trust and makes reports disappear. The allowed themes are agreed in advance.
How often to repeat them
The value is in the series, not in a single campaign: a one-off takes a snapshot, regular repetition brings improvement. The reporting rate is the metric that has to go up, more than the click rate has to go down. The related training is the awareness program.
What it is NOT
It is not a staff evaluation tool, and individual results must not be used to sanction people. It is not a penetration test: it measures people, not systems. Glossary.
Definitions: phishing · DMARC in the cybersecurity glossary.