How to Simulate Real Attacks to Test Phishing Protection

How to Simulate Real Attacks to Test Phishing Protection

Tooele County July 14, 2025

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In an era where cyber threats are advancing faster than many businesses can respond, one critical question remains: how do we effectively test email security solutions like Vircom ModusCloud in ways that reflect real-world risks not just theoretical ones?

At DataguardNXT, a trusted Vircom ModusCloud distributor across UAE, Oman, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Africa, we emphasize more than just the deployment of email security tools. We believe in measurable protection testing that reveals whether your email security solution actually stands up to today’s most sophisticated threats.

The Evolution of Email Security Testing

Email has long been the attack vector of choice for cybercriminals. While basic anti-phishing email security might have sufficed a decade ago, modern threats demand modern defenses and equally modern testing approaches.

Traditional testing methods, such as sending a batch of obvious spam or test phishing emails, fall far short of simulating the complexity and subtlety of current attack campaigns. Today, attackers use advanced phishing, zero-day exploits, fileless attacks, and business email compromise (BEC) tactics to evade traditional filters.

That’s why Vircom ModusCloud goes far beyond legacy security models. Its AI-driven cloud email security engine detects threats dynamically analyzing behavior, context, and intent not just content.

Why Basic Email Testing Fails

Many organizations fall into the trap of using superficial benchmarks to evaluate their email security. Here’s why that approach fails:

• Static Testing: Simply measuring how many spam messages are blocked does not reflect resilience to real-world attack methods.
• Lack of Context: Modern attacks often use “trusted” domains or hijacked accounts to bypass detection.
• No Simulation of User Interaction: Without testing how an employee might interact with a suspicious message (clicking a link, downloading a file), you miss a key part of the threat.

To truly test an email security solution like ModusCloud, the evaluation must go deeper.

Simulating Real-World Email Threats: The Right Way to Test

Here are realistic threat scenarios every business should simulate when evaluating their email security for businesses:

1. Account Takeover Mimicry

Attackers gain control of trusted accounts and mimic the writing style of the user to bypass natural language processing (NLP) filters. ModusCloud's AI algorithms analyze behavioral patterns to detect and flag anomalies.

2. Trusted Redirect Hijacking

Legitimate links from services like Google, Microsoft, or Slack are modified to redirect to phishing sites. ModusCloud evaluates destination behavior, not just the domain.

3. HTML Smuggling

Sophisticated emails use obfuscated JavaScript within HTML tags to bypass traditional scanners. ModusCloud's deep content inspection detects and neutralizes these attempts.

4. Business Email Compromise (BEC)

There are no attachments or links just persuasive, well-crafted text to deceive finance teams. This is where anti-phishing email security powered by behavioral analytics becomes essential.

5. QR Code Phishing

A rising threat: QR codes containing malicious payloads. ModusCloud uses image scanning and link resolution to analyze embedded code risks.

6. CAPTCHA Cloaking

Fake CAPTCHA pages hide phishing content from automated crawlers. Advanced content rendering by ModusCloud reveals hidden threats.

What We Learned from Simulated Attacks

DataguardNXT recently ran a controlled email penetration test simulating over 1,000 phishing attack variants targeting SMBs and enterprises in the GCC region. The results?

54% of simulated threats bypassed conventional security setups.

However, with Vircom ModusCloud, that number dropped drastically to under 7%, thanks to its layered, AI-driven protection model. This included:

• Real-time threat detection
• Machine learning-based anomaly tracking
• Integrated Data Loss Prevention for Email
• Built-in Email Continuity Services to prevent downtime during attacks

These results underscore the importance of not just implementing an email security solution, but continuously testing and tuning it to face evolving threats.

Why Vircom ModusCloud Is Built for Today’s Threats

Unlike many point products, Vircom ModusCloud is a unified cloud email security platform built with modern attacks in mind:

• AI-powered Anti-Phishing Email Security
• Advanced malware and ransomware filtering
• Data Loss Prevention for Email to stop sensitive data from leaking
• Email Continuity Service for uninterrupted access during server outages
• Cloud-native architecture for seamless integration with Office 365, Google Workspace, and MS Exchange

Final Thoughts: Continuous Testing = Continuous Security

You wouldn’t leave your physical office unlocked overnight so why let your email gateway go untested?
Effective email security starts with the right solution, but it’s strengthened by continuous, realistic testing. Vircom ModusCloud is ready for the evolving threat landscape. The question is is your business?
Contact DataguardNXT for a free email security assessment or to schedule a guided threat simulation using Vircom ModusCloud.