Wombat goes phishing with ThreatSim acquisition

Wombat Security is a recognized leader in security awareness training and now it just got better with the acquisition of ThreatSim. ThreatSim has a unique focus on phishing awareness training and will enable Wombat to help customers avoid one of the biggest threats facing them today.

I wrote this blog post about the Wombat acquisition:

Wombat Security announced today that it is acquiring ThreatSim—a company that focuses on spear phishing prevention. The move magnifies Wombat’s security awareness training proficiencies to include a greater focus on one of the biggest cyber threats facing companies today.

Gartner recently recognized Wombat Security as a leader in the Magic Quadrant for security awareness computer-based training. According to Gartner, Wombat is fourth among its peers in ability to execute, but leads all rivals when it comes to completeness of vision. Now that vision is even broader.

Phishing attacks present a uniquely serious threat to companies. The targeted nature of spear phishing attacks makes them much more likely to succeed in baiting an employee to share information, click a link, or open a malicious file. Cyber criminals are also evolving and adapting quickly to make much more convincing phishing emails that make it exceptionally difficult to differentiate between a legitimate email and a spear phishing attack.

An attacker that wants to gain access to a specific target company can use a spear phishing attack to compromise credentials of an authorized user or infect an endpoint inside the network with malware that provides him with a platform to conduct reconnaissance on the network and find other systems to exploit. Spear phishing attacks are more precise and targeted than a standard phishing attack, which makes it easier for the attacker to craft convincing bait and more difficult for potential victims to discern the difference.

A recent Ponemon Institute study—sponsored by Wombat Security—found that phishing attacks cost businesses an average of $3.77 million per year. That includes both the direct cost of responding to and cleaning up after successful phishing attacks, as well as the indirect costs of lost productivity from employees sifting through phishing emails trying to avoid getting compromised. The addition of the spear-phishing testing from ThreatSim will make Wombat’s security training more effective and valuable for customers.

Check out the full story on CSOOnline: Wombat acquires ThreatSim to extend security awareness training capabilities.