This Was A Phishing Simulation

What should have raised suspicion?

• The email unexpectedly informed you that a mandatory Health and Safety training course had been assigned.
• The email encouraged you to access the Sideways Training Portal through a link contained within the message.
• The website required a Microsoft sign-in before allowing access to the training module.
• Unexpected requests to sign in using Microsoft credentials should always be treated with caution.
• The sender address was [email protected].
• The sender domain contained a subtle typo. The number 0 was used instead of the letter o in airportretail.co.uk.

Indicators of compromise

Why your Microsoft account matters

Your Microsoft account provides access to multiple ARE applications, systems and services.

It is also used to sign in to your ARE laptop, Outlook, Teams and company resources.

A compromised Microsoft account could provide attackers with access to sensitive company information and enable further attacks against the organisation.

Always verify unexpected sign-in requests, particularly when they originate from email links.

What should you do?

If you receive an unexpected training assignment, document request or sign-in prompt, stop and verify the request before entering your credentials.

Carefully check the sender address, inspect the website address and look for suspicious spelling variations in company domains.

When in doubt, contact the IT team using trusted contact methods rather than links provided in the email.