Training often feels like a rite of passage—a PowerPoint in a conference room, a yearly phishing test, “awareness” sessions to check the compliance box. Yet when your inbox dings with a demand letter, no one asks how many training modules you deployed. They’ll ask: “Can you prove your training matches the protections you claimed to have in place?” 

Every year, organizations spend millions on phishing awareness training, convinced that simulated phishing emails will turn employees into a human firewall. But new research tells a different story: traditional phishing training doesn’t just fail—it can actually make employees more likely to fall for phishing scams.

Your organization’s most critical line of defense isn’t a firewall or the latest security tool.  It’s your people. Yet, despite years of security awareness campaigns, employees remain a prime target for cybercriminals. Phishing emails, voice scams, and smishing attacks continue to exploit gaps in user training, leading to breaches that cost businesses millions.