They trick
Fake phishing emails are designed to catch employees out, increasing stress without improving results.
Looking for better results from your security awareness training? Where traditional phishing tests use ‘gotcha’ tactics that trick employees into failure, CyberHoot’s positive reinforcement approach trains them to recognize and report real threats.
Fake phishing emails are designed to catch employees out, increasing stress without improving results.
Traditional testing punishes those who make mistakes, forcing additional training that lowers morale.
Typical simulation training is unengaging, so users drop off and fail to learn the security awareness they need.
The research is clear. Fake phishing tests and “fail” grades don’t encourage employees and can actually increase vulnerabilities by making employees more anxious, less confident, and more likely to click. CyberHoot’s positive reinforcement builds genuine security awareness.
Fake phishing emails designed to catch employees out create stress and reduce trust between employees and IT teams.
CyberHoot’s interactive training teaches employees how to spot threats, building genuine security awareness through positive reinforcement.
Traditional static training models are dull and unengaging. Researchers, presenting at Black Hat, found over 50% of employees abandon them in under 10 seconds, leaving serious awareness gaps unmitigated.
In contrast, CyberHoot’s gamified, interactive training turns engagement into lasting cybersecurity habits.
Attack phishing simulations use simple, predictable domains that don’t match the vendors they impersonate, making them easy to spot and failing to build real awareness.
CyberHoot uses hyper-realistic scenarios that teach employees to recognize actual threat indicators via interactive walkthroughs.
Traditional phishing emails are often only tracked when a user clicks. If employees ignore the email, you get zero insights into their security readiness.
CyberHoot’s interactive training monitors every individual user’s progress with 100% visibility for all users, tracking improvements, and identifying weak links.
| CyberHoot | Other Vendors | |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | ||
| Learning Method | Positive reinforcement | Negative "gotcha" testing |
| Training Type | Interactive + realistic | Traditional phishing emails |
| Simulation | Hyper-realistic | Over-simplified |
| Effectiveness | ||
| Engagement Rate | High with gamification and rewards | 50%+ abandon training in under 10 seconds |
| Completion Rate | Near 100% & measurable | Averages just 24% |
| Employees | Build confidence and trust | Feel tricked and anxious, leading to disengagement. |
| Improvements | 19% better results with a positive approach¹ | Just 1.7% overall improvement |
| Behavior Change | Long-term | Minimal change |
| Features | ||
| Interactivity | Fully gamified | Static, limited |
| Analytics | Individual user reports | Limited |
| Customization | Tailored + White-Label | Limited |
| Video Training | 1,000+ videos on security topics | Available |
| Automation | Full - training, emails, reminders, reports | Partial |
| Setup Complexity | Simple, deployed in minutes | Moderate to high complexity |
| Integration | Effortless with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace | Varies by vendor |
| Dark Web Monitoring | Yes | Not typically |
| MSP Multi-Tenancy | Yes | Partial and difficult |
that builds confidence, not anxiety
that works without constant management
that employees actually enjoy
that reduce real-world phishing success
Get sharper eyes on human risks, with the positive approach that beats traditional phish testing.
