Executive-Targeted Spear Phishing

Overview

C-level executives are the #1 target for sophisticated spear phishing attacks. This tutorial shows you how to design and execute realistic phishing simulations for leadership while maintaining appropriate discretion, confidentiality, and compliance with organizational policies.

Step 1: Create VIP-Only Target Groups

Separate executive campaigns from general employee simulations to maintain confidentiality and enable custom reporting. Use restricted access controls to limit visibility to CISO and board members only.

POST /api/groups
{
  "name": "Executive Leadership Team",
  "targets": [
    {
      "email": "ceo@company.com",
      "first_name": "Jane",
      "last_name": "Smith",
      "position": "CEO"
    },
    {
      "email": "cfo@company.com",
      "first_name": "John",
      "last_name": "Doe",
      "position": "CFO"
    }
  ],
  "access_control": {
    "visibility": "restricted",
    "authorized_users": ["ciso@company.com", "security-lead@company.com"]
  }
}

Step 2: Design Executive-Focused Templates

Craft realistic scenarios that executives actually face, such as board meeting invitations, investor communications, or legal compliance requests. Avoid obvious "test" indicators.

Step 3: Configure Private Reporting Dashboards

Create executive-only dashboards that aggregate results without exposing individual performance. Focus on trends and organizational risk rather than personal metrics.

POST /api/dashboards
{
  "name": "Executive Security Awareness",
  "type": "private",
  "anonymize_individual_results": true,
  "show_aggregated_metrics": true,
  "share_with": ["board-members"],
  "metrics": [
    "overall_click_rate",
    "reporting_rate",
    "time_to_report",
    "trend_analysis"
  ]
}

Step 4: Schedule Non-Disruptive Timing

Coordinate with executive assistants to avoid critical business periods like earnings calls, board meetings, or investor presentations. Send campaigns during normal business hours when executives are less stressed.

Step 5: Provide Personalized Remediation Training

Offer one-on-one coaching sessions instead of generic training videos. Focus on the specific threats executives face, such as business email compromise (BEC), CEO fraud, and sophisticated social engineering.

• Private Debrief: Schedule 15-minute 1:1 sessions with CISO
• Threat Intelligence: Share real-world examples of executive-targeted attacks
• Custom Playbooks: Develop decision trees for common executive scenarios
• Verification Protocols: Establish out-of-band verification for sensitive requests
• Assistant Training: Include EAs in security awareness program