Social engineering works because attackers deliberately exploit human routines, trust, and time pressure. A sender address that appears familiar, a familiar writing style, or a plausibly placed link can quickly make a message seem legitimate. If the deception succeeds, it can lead to a chain of attacks: Attackers first compromise an account or environment and then use existing business relationships to launch further phishing attacks.
Recent findings demonstrate just how relevant phishing remains: The Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS) reports a sharp increase in AI-powered, personalized phishing. Intelligence data from our ISO-certified Cyber Defense Center also confirms this trend: Spear phishing will remain a dominant attack pattern in 2026.
A single moment of deception can be enough for attackers to move from a compromised account to other systems.
Effective cyber defense requires security awareness because social engineering targets human decision-making. Technical safeguards alone cannot prevent social engineering. Routine tasks and high-pressure situations also increase the likelihood that manipulation attempts will go unnoticed in everyday work. This is precisely why security awareness is more than just a training topic: it strengthens the ability to recognize suspicious situations, question them critically, and act safely when in doubt. By the way, our security awareness poster offers a brief overview of how your employees can successfully spot phishing attempts.
An effective security culture embeds this awareness into everyday work and actively involves employees in cyber defense. This creates a human firewall: employees who recognize suspicious situations, respond safely, and report incidents early on. It better protects organizations against phishing, Business Email Compromise (BEC), and other forms of social engineering.
A strong human firewall is built step by step through targeted measures that embed security awareness in everyday work. It is crucial to raise employees’ awareness in a way that aligns with their knowledge, their responsibilities, and the specific risks they face.
The Security Awareness Journey structures this development into five maturity levels and shows which measures make sense next.
The five levels each have different focal points:
Encourage your employees to remain critical even when everything seems familiar. With targeted security awareness initiatives, you can foster security awareness and confidence in taking action within your organization.
Supply chains, in particular, are increasingly becoming targets for cybercriminals. Compromised email accounts belonging to suppliers or partners are ideal starting points for targeted spear-phishing attacks. Every minute counts here: A Security Operations Center (SOC) monitors security-related activities 24/7, detects suspicious patterns early on, initiates countermeasures, and limits the further spread of the attack.
“Effective cyber defense combines human judgment with continuous technical monitoring.”
A recent case from our Cyber Defense Center illustrates just how quickly a credible message can turn into a security incident. It all started with a phishing email regarding a supplier that had already been compromised. What appeared to be routine business communication quickly took a critical turn.
The attacker exploited the supplier’s legitimate communication channel and injected malicious code via a rigged link—disguised as a response to an existing customer inquiry. Within minutes, the malware was active.
The attacker moved laterally through the network and used unrotated administrator credentials to compromise additional systems.
When the attacker attempted to penetrate the infrastructure we were monitoring, the 24/7 SOC detected the activity. The internet proxy blocked the command-and-control connection and triggered an alert. Our Blue Team took over and initiated containment within minutes.
The team disabled VPN access, isolated affected systems using an EDR solution, and blocked command-and-control communication via a DNS sinkhole. The coordinated response halted the attack chain before it could result in massive business disruption.
In the event of an escalating cyberattack, a coordinated incident response is crucial for speed, evidence preservation, and containment. Uncoordinated in-house measures can destroy evidence and complicate recovery. Our Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) helps affected companies contain the attack in a targeted manner, restore operational capability, and return to normal operations in a structured way.
This real-world case illustrates just how little time can elapse between a successful deception and a security incident. Security awareness starts earlier. It empowers employees to recognize manipulation attempts early on, question them critically, and act securely even in seemingly familiar situations.
This critical second glance can be trained. With a security awareness solution, you start right where your organization currently stands and systematically develop your security culture further.
Address risks specifically: Awareness measures are tailored to your organization’s relevant target groups and risks.
Reinforce secure behavior: Practical training and phishing simulations prepare employees for real-world attack patterns.
Measuring impact: KPIs and continuous evaluations highlight progress and identify areas for further action.
In this way, individual measures evolve into a security culture that can be continuously managed. See how security awareness reveals your organization’s maturity level and reinforces secure behavior in everyday work.
Caption: AI-generated image