Why are companies trying to trip up their own employees with phishing bait? To sharpen their employees’ observation skills and protect company information, according to the Wall Street Journal. Cybersecurity tests aren’t limited to just receiving dodgy links or sketchy promotions (or the scam we all know too well — messages from a Nigerian prince), however. Some companies have tested their employees with far more subtle and difficult-to-detect phishing emails and messages. One employee the Journal spoke with recalled receiving an Amazon gift card from her employer, who wanted to thank her for her hard work — a gesture they had done in the past. Upon clicking the link, she was informed that she had failed a phishing test.
It’s a controversial approach — and there are probably more constructive ways to improve cybersecurity among employees. Experts cited by the WSJ suggest that companies should hold traditional training sessions instead of trying to scam their workers, while some employees have indicated that the baiting approach undermines morale.
Companies can pick their poison. A security-awareness company that specializes in sending these emails offer companies 20k templates to choose from, ranging from pop culture scoops to seasonal communiques. While a year of guerilla phishing training reduces employees’ likelihood of clicking suspicious links from 33.2% to 5.4%, it is hurting office morale. Willingly sending fraudulent emails announcing bonuses and/or compensatory gifts seems cruel in this economic climate, say employees, especially when you get dozens of emails a day.
Spacesuits à la mode? Italian luxury fashion house Prada is teaming up with commercial space company Axiom Space to design NASA’s lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission, according to Reuters. The two companies released a joint statement last week mentioning that the duo will design the “Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit.” Artemis III mission is scheduled to be in 2025 and will mark the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo in December 1972 and will involve the first woman astronaut setting foot on the moon.
What is special about AxEMU? Using Prada’s expertise with handling materials, the suit will be manufactured and designed to provide both advanced space exploration capabilities and a developed human system for NASA to facilitate further lunar missions. The Axiom space suits are usually tailored to offer enhanced flexibility, improved protection against harsh lunar environment conditions such as radiation and space dust and to include tools for scientific exploration. The upcoming spacesuits will be even more advanced designed using cutting-edge technology, giving astronauts bigger chances to explore the lunar surface more than ever before.