Automating Dynamic Phishing and Remedial Training Using Smart Groups

If you’re a Platinum or Diamond-level customer, you can use our Smart Groups feature to create an automated dynamic phishing and remedial training plan.

If you set up this plan, users who fail phishing tests will be automatically enrolled in dynamic phishing campaigns and remedial training campaigns. Users will be enrolled in these campaigns depending on how many failures they've had over a period of time and how much training they’ve completed.

Our phishing plan is dynamic, which means that users will be added to or removed from phishing campaigns as necessary, depending on their phishing test failures. Our training plan is remedial, which means that training is assigned to users based on their specific number of phishing failures.

To learn how to create your automated phishing and remedial training plan with Smart Groups, click the jump links below. If you prefer video tutorials, you can watch our Automated Phishing and Remedial Training with Smart Groups video. For general information about Smart Groups, see our How to Use Smart Groups article. 

See the sections below for details on how each plan works, and things you should consider before creating these workflows.

Jump to:

Dynamic Phishing with Smart Groups

     How Dynamic Phishing Works

     Create Smart Groups for Dynamic Phishing

     Create Beginner Phishing Campaigns for Dynamic Phishing

     Create Advanced Phishing Campaigns for Dynamic Phishing

Remedial Training with Smart Groups

     How Automated Remedial Training Works

     Create Smart Groups for Remedial Training

     Create Training Campaigns for Remedial Training

Dynamic Phishing with Smart Groups

Using Smart Groups, you can enroll your users in dynamic phishing campaigns based on the number of phishing tests they’ve failed in a specific amount of time.

When your users fail a phishing test, they will receive easier, more frequent phishing tests. Testing your users more frequently with easier phishing tests will help them learn how to watch out for basic red flags. Then, once your users pass more phishing tests, they will receive harder phishing tests on a less frequent basis.

To learn more about how dynamic phishing works and how to create your Smart Groups and campaigns for dynamic phishing, see the subsections below.

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How Dynamic Phishing Works

To set up your dynamic phishing plan, you will need to create two Smart Groups: an advanced phishing Smart Group and a beginner phishing Smart Group. Each Smart Group will be enrolled in either an advanced or beginner phishing campaign.

Once you create your Smart Groups, all of your users will start in the advanced phishing Smart Group. Then, any user that fails a phishing test will be removed from the advanced phishing Smart Group and added to the beginner phishing Smart Group. If users in the beginner phishing Smart Group pass two phishing tests, these users will be added back to the advanced phishing Smart Group.

For a more detailed explanation of how dynamic phishing works, see the steps below:

1. All users begin in the advanced phishing Smart Group and are enrolled in the advanced phishing campaign.
2. While they are enrolled in the advanced phishing campaign, users are tested on a monthly basis with more difficult phishing tests. This campaign includes phishing templates with a three-star, four-star, or five-star difficulty rating.
3. If a user fails a phishing test in the advanced phishing campaign, that user is automatically added to the beginner phishing Smart Group and enrolled in the beginner phishing campaign.
4. While they are enrolled in the beginner phishing campaign, users are tested on a bi-weekly basis with less difficult phishing tests. This includes phishing templates with a one-star, two-star, or three-star difficulty rating.
5. Once the user passes two consecutive phishing tests in the beginner phishing campaign, they will be automatically added back to the advanced phishing Smart Group and the advanced phishing campaign.

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Create Smart Groups for Dynamic Phishing

To begin your dynamic phishing plan, you will need to create a beginner phishing Smart Group and an advanced phishing Smart Group.

To create your Smart Groups, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to Users > Groups.
2. Click +Create New Group.
3. In the Group Name field, enter a descriptive name for your Smart Group such as “Beginner Phishing”.
4. Select the Make this a Smart Group check box.
5. After you’ve filled out all the desired fields, click Create Group. For more information about the other available fields on the Create New Group page, see our How Do I Create a New Group? article.
   
6. Click the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and add criteria rules for the Smart Group. To view the criteria for each Smart Group, see the Smart Groups Criteria table below Step 8.
7. To save your Smart Group criteria, click Save.
8. Repeat Steps 1-7 to create each Smart Group with the corresponding Smart Group criteria.

Smart Groups Criteria

Beginner Phishing Smart Group

Advanced Phishing Smart Group

From the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Phish Event. Then, fill out the fields below to add your beginner phishing Smart Group criteria: Condition: Select Must. Phish Event: Select Any Failures. Comparison: Select Greater Than. Count: Select 0. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks. Note: If you currently test your users more or less than once per month, you may want to change your Smart Group criteria rules accordingly. For example, if you test your users once every three weeks, you may want to include three weeks in your criteria instead of four weeks. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click this button. This Smart Group will include users with any failures in the last four weeks.

From the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Phish Event. Then, fill out the fields below to add your beginner phishing Smart Group criteria: Condition: Select Must Not. Phish Event: Select Any Failures. Comparison: Select Greater Than. Count: Select 0. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks. Note: If you currently test your users more or less than once per month, you may want to change your Smart Group criteria rules accordingly. For example, if you test your users once every three weeks, you may want to include three weeks in your criteria instead of four weeks. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click this button. This Smart Group will include users who have not had any failures in the last four weeks.

Your users will only be included in one of these groups at a time. However, your users may move between each of these Smart Groups automatically, based on which group’s criteria they meet.

Once you've created your Smart Groups, see the Create Phishing Campaigns for Dynamic Phishing section below to set up the corresponding phishing campaigns.
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Create Beginner Phishing Campaign for Dynamic Phishing

After you have created your Smart Groups for dynamic phishing, you can create your dynamic phishing campaigns.

To create your beginner phishing campaign, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to the Phishing tab.
2. Click +Create Phishing Campaign.
3. On the New Phishing Campaign page, fill in the fields to create your beginner phishing campaign. For more information about our suggested settings, see the screenshot and list below.

1. Campaign Name: Enter a descriptive name for the campaign, such as “Beginner Phishing.”
2. Send to: Click Specific Groups, then select your beginner phishing Smart Group from the drop-down menu.
3. Frequency: We recommend selecting either Bi-weekly or Monthly.
4. Start Time: Set a start time for your campaign.
   Important: Be sure to start both of your dynamic phishing campaigns on the same date. If you choose to set up a remedial training plan, we recommend that you start your remedial training campaigns at the same time as well.
5. Template Categories: Select the phishing template categories that you would like to test your users with. As a best practice, we recommend that you select template categories that are not typically connected with an employee’s email address, such as Banking and Finance or Social Networking.
6. Difficulty Rating: Select one, two, and three stars.
7. Create Campaign: Click this button once you’ve filled out the necessary fields.

Once you have created your beginner phishing campaign, you can create your advanced phishing campaign.

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Create Advanced Phishing Campaign for Dynamic Phishing

After you have created your Smart Groups for dynamic phishing, you can create your dynamic phishing campaigns.

To create your advanced phishing campaign, follow the steps below.

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to the Phishing tab.
2. Click +Create Phishing Campaign.
3. On the New Phishing Campaign page, fill in the fields to create your advanced phishing campaign. For more information about our suggested settings, see the screenshot and list below.

1. Campaign Name: Enter a descriptive name for the campaign, such as “Advanced Phishing.”
2. Send to: Click Specific Groups, then select your advanced phishing Smart Group from the drop-down menu.
3. Frequency: We recommend selecting either Bi-weekly or Monthly.
4. Start Time: Set a start date for your campaign.
   
   Important: Be sure to start both of your dynamic phishing campaigns on the same date. If you choose to set up a remedial training plan, we recommend that you start your remedial training campaigns on the same date as well.
5. Template Categories: Select the phishing template categories that you would like to test your users with. As a best practice, we recommend that you select template categories that are typically connected with an employee’s email address, such as Human Resources, IT, or Mail Notifications.
6. Difficulty Rating: Select three, four, and five stars.
7. Create Campaign: Click this button once you’ve filled out the necessary fields.

After you create your Smart Groups and campaigns, your users will begin in the advanced phishing Smart Group and receive phishing tests from the advanced phishing campaign. They will then be dynamically added to and removed from the beginner phishing Smart Group as needed.

Once you’ve created your dynamic phishing campaigns, we also recommend that you set up a remedial training plan. For more information about this plan, see the Remedial Training with Smart Groups section below.

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Remedial Training with Smart Groups

In addition to creating a dynamic phishing plan, you can also use Smart Groups to create an automated remedial training plan. We designed the automated remedial training plan to be used alongside the dynamic phishing plan.

Once your users fail a certain number of phishing tests, they will be automatically enrolled in remedial training. Then, your user will be added to additional remedial training if necessary, depending on their phishing failures.

To learn more about how automated remedial training works and how to create your Smart Groups and campaigns for automated remedial training, see the subsections below.

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How Automated Remedial Training Works

Users are automatically enrolled in a remedial training campaign each time they fail a phishing test. Users will be enrolled in a different round of remedial training depending on how many phishing tests they have recently failed.

After their first three phishing test failures, users are enrolled in a new remedial training campaign. If your users fail a fourth phishing test, they will be re-enrolled into the first round of remedial training. If your users continue to fail additional phishing tests after the fourth test, they will be re-enrolled in the second and third rounds of remedial training.

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Create Smart Groups for Remedial Training

To begin your automated remedial training plan, you will need to create three Smart Groups. In this section, you will learn how to create each of these Smart Groups.

To create your Smart Groups, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to Users > Groups.
2. Click +Create New Group.
3. In the Group Name field, enter a name for your Smart Group. We recommend that you choose a name that describes the round of remedial training, such as “Remedial Training - Round 1.”
4. Select the Make This a Smart Group check box.
5. After you’ve filled out all the desired fields, click Create Group. For more information about the other available fields on the Create New Group page, see our How Do I Create a New Group? article. 
6. Click the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and add the criteria for the Smart Group. To view the criteria for each Smart Group, click the Smart Group name in the drop-down menu below Step 7.
7. Repeat Steps 1-6 for each Smart Group. Be sure to enter the correct name and add the corresponding Smart Group criteria for each Smart Group.

Remedial Training - Round 1

For your Round 1 Smart Group, you will need to add both Phish Event and Training criteria.

To add your Phish Event criteria, fill out the fields below:

1. Condition: Select Must.
2. Phish Event: Select Failed Phishing Test.
3. Comparison: Select Equal.
4. Count: Select 1.
5. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: Click this button to save your criteria.

After you’ve added your Phish Event criteria, add your Training criteria.

To add your Training criteria, fill out the fields below:

1. Condition: Select Must Not.
2. Training Event: Select Completed.
3. Scope: Select Any Selected.
4. Assignments: Select the assignments you'd like to assign to users in the first round of remedial training.
5. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: Click this button to save your criteria.

These users will be automatically enrolled in your Remedial Training - Round 1 training campaign. For more information about creating your remedial training campaigns, see the Create Training Campaigns for Remedial Training section below.

Remedial Training - Round 2

For your Round 2 Smart Group, you will need to add both Phish Event and Training criteria.

To add your Phish Event criteria, fill out the fields below:

1. Condition: Select Must.
2. Phish Event: Select Failed Phishing Test.
3. Comparison: Select Equal.
4. Count: Select 2.
5. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: After you've added your criteria, click this button.

After you’ve added your Phish Event criteria, add your Training criteria. For this Smart Group, you will need to add two Training criteria.

To add your first Training criteria, fill out the fields below:

1. Condition: Select Must.
2. Training Event: Select Completed.
3. Scope: Select Any Selected.
4. Assignments: Select the training assignments that you included in Remedial Training - Round 1.
5. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: After you've added your criteria, click this button.

After you’ve added your first Training criteria, add your second Training criteria.

To add your second Training criteria, fill out the fields below:

 

1. Condition: Select Must Not.
2. Training Event: Select Completed.
3. Scope: Select Any Selected.
4. Assignments: Select the assignments you'd like to assign to users in the second round of remedial training.
5. Time Frame. Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: After you've added your criteria, click this button.

This criteria includes users who have failed phishing tests two times in the last four weeks, have completed the Round 1 remedial training, and have not completed the Round 2 remedial training.

Remedial Training - Round 3

For your Round 3 Smart Group, you will need to add both Phish Event and Training criteria.

To add your Phish Event criteria, follow the step below:

1. Condition: Select Must.
2. Phish Event: Select Failed Phishing Test.
3. Comparison: Select Equal.
4. Count: Select 3.
5. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: After you've added your criteria, click this button.

After you’ve added your Phish Event criteria, add your Training criteria. For this Smart Group, you will need to add two Training criteria.

To add your first Training criteria, fill out the fields below:

1. Condition: Select Must.
2. Training Event: Select Completed.
3. Scope: Select Any Selected.
4. Assignments: Select the training assignments that you included in Remedial Training - Round 2
5. Time Frame. Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: After you've added your criteria, click this button.

After you’ve added your first Training criteria, add your second Training criteria.

To add your second Training criteria, fill out the fields below:

1. Condition: Select Must Not.
2. Training Event: Select Completed.
3. Scope: Select Any Selected.
4. Assignments: Select the training assignments that you would like users to complete in the third round of remedial training.
5. Time Frame. Select Duration. Then, select In the last, 4, and Weeks.
6. Save: After you've added your criteria, click this button.

This criteria includes users who failed exactly three times in the last four weeks, have completed the Round 2 remedial training, and have not completed the Round 3 remedial training.

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Create Training Campaigns for Remedial Training

After you have created your Smart Groups for remedial training, you can create your remedial training campaigns.

To create your training campaigns, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to the Training tab.
2. Click +Create Training Campaign.
3. Fill out the fields on the Create New Training Campaign page. The suggested settings for these remedial training campaigns are outlined below Step 4. The campaign settings that are not outlined can be customized to your preferences.
4. Repeat Steps 1-3 to create your Remedial Training - Round 2 and Remedial Training - Round 3 training campaigns. Be sure to add the correct Campaign Name and Content and enroll the correct Smart Group for each training campaign.

1. Campaign Name: Enter a descriptive name for your campaign, such as “Remedial Training – Round 1” or “Remedial Training - Round 2.”
2. Start Date: Set a start date for your campaign.
   
   Important: Be sure to start each of your remedial training campaigns on the same date. If you set up dynamic phishing campaigns, we recommend that you start your remedial training campaigns on the same date that you set in your dynamic phishing campaigns.
3. End Date: We recommend that you set a Relative Duration of 2 Weeks.
4. Content: Select the training content you’d like to include.
   
   Note: This content must match the content you included in the associated Smart Group Training criteria rule.
5. Enroll Groups: Click Specific Groups, then select the corresponding Smart Group.
6. Enable automatic enrollment for new users: Select this check box. This setting allows users to be automatically enrolled in training once they’ve failed a phishing test and they’re added to the appropriate Smart Group.
7. Enable progress reset for remedial training: Select this check box to reset a user’s progress if they are re-enrolled in this campaign.
8. Notifications: Set up notifications for your training campaign. At a minimum, we recommend that you set up a Welcome notification and a Remind Before Due Date notification. For more information about setting up training notifications, see our Training Campaign Notifications article.
9. Create Campaign: After you've filled out the fields above and any other fields you'd like to fill, click this button to create your campaign.

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