Security Awareness Training and Phishing Simulations for Banks
Bank employees handle sensitive customer, financial, and operational information, making security awareness an important part of a bank's broader cybersecurity program.
Phishmake helps banks run simulations, deliver training, track activity, and maintain useful records from one platform.
Employee training • Phishing simulations • Activity records • Reporting
Help Bank Employees Recognize Real-World Phishing Threats
Employees may encounter credential phishing, fake password resets, invoice fraud, business email compromise, impersonation, malicious links, and document-sharing scams. Training can help them pause, verify, and follow the organization's reporting process.
Run Controlled Phishing Simulations for Bank Employees
Choose a relevant scenario, select employee groups, and schedule a controlled campaign. Review supported activity without turning the exercise into a blame-driven test.
Reinforce Simulations With Security Awareness Training
Use campaign activity to identify where learning may help. Assign courses manually or configure follow-up training, then monitor progress and completion.
Maintain Clear Simulation and Training Records
Centralized campaign events, employee activity, assignments, and completion records can support internal security reviews, management reporting, risk teams, compliance teams, and evidence collection. Acceptance remains with the relevant reviewer.
Support Your Broader GLBA Security Program
The GLBA Safeguards Rule applies differently depending on an institution and its regulator. FTC guidance for covered financial institutions calls for an information security program and personnel security awareness training.
Source: FTC Safeguards Rule guidance
Consider FFIEC Cybersecurity Guidance
FFIEC resources help supervised financial institutions evaluate information-security practices. Training should fit the institution's risks, roles, and broader control environment.
A Practical Workflow for Bank Security Teams
- 01Employees
- 02Training
- 03Simulation
- 04Activity
- 05Reinforcement
- 06Reporting
- 07Repeat
Common questions
Why should banks conduct phishing simulations?
Controlled simulations connect training to realistic email decisions and show where additional reinforcement may be useful.
What should security awareness training for banks cover?
Content should reflect the institution's risks and roles. Common areas include phishing, impersonation, credential protection, information handling, and reporting procedures.
How often should banks run phishing tests?
There is no universal schedule. Frequency should reflect the organization's risk assessment, workforce, policies, threat environment, and applicable requirements. A repeatable program is more useful than an isolated test.
Does GLBA require employee security training?
The answer depends on the institution and regulator. The FTC Safeguards Rule requires covered institutions to provide personnel with security awareness training updated to reflect risks identified by the risk assessment.
What is the FFIEC's role in security awareness?
The FFIEC develops uniform principles and guidance used by member agencies in supervising financial institutions. Awareness is part of a broader risk-based program.
Can training and simulation results support compliance reporting?
They can provide evidence that awareness activities occurred and were monitored. Those records do not, by themselves, establish compliance or guarantee that an auditor or examiner will consider the evidence sufficient.
How can employee awareness activity be tracked?
Phishmake centralizes campaign events, training assignments, progress, and completion records at the employee level.
Keep building your program
All resourcesMake Employee Security Awareness Easier to Manage
Run phishing simulations, deliver employee awareness training, and maintain useful records from one platform.