Phishing remains one of the most persistent and successful cyber-attack methods. In response, many organisations have turned to phishing simulations as a cornerstone of their security awareness programmes. The logic is simple: if employees are regularly “tested,” they will learn to spot malicious emails and stop real attacks.

Yet despite years of simulations and mandatory e-learning, phishing continues to succeed. Why? Because too many organisations treat phishing simulations as a one-off training exercise rather than a behavioural challenge. Clicking “next” on an annual training module doesn’t rewire the habits and decision-making shortcuts that attackers exploit every day.

The Limits of Annual Training

The typical approach looks something like this:

  • An annual e-learning course explaining common phishing tactics
  • Periodic phishing simulations with “gotcha” follow-up training for anyone who clicks
  • Occasional reminder emails to “think before you click”

This model creates episodic awareness, a short burst of knowledge that fades quickly. Attackers, on the other hand, rely on moment-to-moment behaviour: the quick scan of an email subject line, the instinctive click on a “payment overdue” link, the rush to reply to a senior executive.

A once-a-year module simply doesn’t compete with the immediacy of these triggers.

Behavioural Science: Shaping Action, Not Just Knowledge

Behavioural science tells us that human decision-making is driven by capability, opportunity, and motivation (the COM-B model). Effective defence requires interventions that address all three, in real time, not just a knowledge dump.

Here are some ways to bring behavioural principles into your phishing strategy:

1. Nudge at the Moment of Risk

  • Provide in-context prompts when people are actually dealing with email.
  • For example, a subtle pop-up when a link is clicked (“Are you expecting this message?”) can interrupt automatic behaviour and trigger a quick double-check.

2. Use Visual Cues Based on the Psychology of Colour

  • Introduce a traffic-light system to signal trust levels:
  • Colour works because it taps into instinctive human associations – red for danger, green for safety – helping people make faster, more accurate decisions.

3. Reframe Simulations as Learning, Not Traps

  • Replace “gotcha” campaigns with transparent, supportive exercises.
  • Provide immediate, positive feedback (“Great spot—here’s what made this suspicious”) rather than delayed reprimands.

4. Layer Micro-Training into Everyday Workflows

  • Short, contextual tips in email clients or collaboration tools (Teams, Slack) are far more effective than a 45-minute annual course.
  • For example, a banner explaining a real phishing attempt that was blocked (“This is how we stopped a similar attack today”) turns real incidents into teachable moments.

5. Build Habits, Not Just Awareness

  • Encourage employees to report first, ask later.
  • Make reporting effortless – one-click buttons, immediate acknowledgement, and visible follow-up create the repetition and reinforcement needed to form a reporting habit.

6. Social Proof and Peer Influence

  • Highlight teams or departments that achieve high reporting rates.
  • People are more likely to act securely when they see their peers doing the same.

Taking Responsibility as Security Leaders

Security leaders must accept that the old model of annual training is failing. We cannot simply tick a compliance box and expect behaviour to change. A genuine human cyber risk management approach requires:

  • Continuous, data-driven insights into risky behaviours
  • Interventions that fit seamlessly into daily workflows
  • A culture of psychological safety, where employees are praised for reporting suspicious activity – even false alarms

Phishing simulations still have value, but only when embedded within a broader behavioural strategy that targets the moments that matter.

The Bottom Line

Phishing is a behavioural problem, not an awareness problem. The organisations that will win this battle are those that stop relying on once-a-year training and start designing real-time, human-centred defences.

The attackers are adapting every day. It’s time our defences, and our understanding of human behaviour, did the same.

💡 What next? If your phishing programme is stuck in the annual training rut, ask:

  • Where can we add live nudges and colour-coded cues?
  • How can we turn reporting into a habit rather than a chore?
  • What feedback loops will reinforce secure behaviour every day?

Because in the fight against phishing, knowledge is not power – behaviour is.


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