Learn how phishing simulations help organizations measure employee susceptibility to email-based attacks. Articles cover simulation design, realistic phishing templates, campaign scheduling, result analysis, and strategies for turning simulation data into stronger security behaviors.
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The CEO Who Wired $47 Million to a Stranger In 2016, FACC, an Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer, lost €42 million (roughly $47 million) after a threat actor impersonated the company's CEO via email and instructed an employee to wire funds for a fake acquisition project. The CEO and
In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor called Scattered Spider social-engineered their way past the help desk with a single phone call. But that attack started the way most do — with a phishing attack that gathered the intelligence needed to make that call convincing.
The Breach That Started With a Single Click In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered the company's IT help desk with a ten-minute phone call. The attacker didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They didn't brute-force a password.
In 2024, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after an attacker social-engineered an IT help desk employee with a ten-minute phone call. The attacker found a worker's name on LinkedIn, called the help desk, and convinced them to reset credentials. That's it. No zero-day exploit.
A Single Email Cost This Company Everything In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor used a phone-based social engineering attack — a technique closely related to phishing — to gain access to their systems. The attackers didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability or brute-force a
A $4.88 Million Problem With a Training-Shaped Solution IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report put the global average breach cost at $4.88 million. That number alone should end every budget debate about security awareness programs. But I still sit in meetings where executives ask
A Single Phone Call Cost MGM Resorts $100 Million In September 2023, a threat actor called MGM Resorts' IT help desk, impersonated an employee found on LinkedIn, and convinced a technician to reset credentials. That one vishing call triggered a ransomware attack that shut down slot machines, hotel key
A Single Email Cost This Company $100 Million In 2019, Toyota Boshoku Corporation lost $37 million to a single business email compromise attack. A threat actor impersonated a senior executive and convinced a finance employee to change wire transfer details. The money vanished. That's phishing — not some abstract
One Click Cost This Company $47 Million In 2023, a finance employee at Clorox received what looked like a routine vendor email. One click later, threat actors had a foothold inside the network. The resulting cyberattack disrupted operations for months and cost the company an estimated $356 million in damages
The Ransomware Gang That Treats Phishing Like a Business In March 2025, CISA and the FBI issued a joint advisory — AA25-071A — warning that the Medusa ransomware gang had compromised over 300 organizations across critical infrastructure sectors. Healthcare, education, legal, insurance, manufacturing. The attack vector in the vast majority of cases?
