In this article, you’ll learn how to automate remedial training, periodic training, and a variety of other training processes with Smart Groups. Remedial training automatically assigns training content to users who fail a Phishing Security Test (PST). Periodic training allows you to assign sets of training content at specific times or in a specific order. The additional training processes in this article can help you train specific groups of users, such as new hires, based on your organization’s needs.
For general information about using Smart Groups, see our Smart Groups Quickstart Guide.
Automated Remedial Training
We recommend automating remedial training enrollments for users who fail a Phishing Security Test (PST). When a user fails a PST, they will be automatically added to a Smart Group and assigned remedial training content of your choice. If they complete the training and fail another PST, they will receive a second round of remedial training content. This process encourages your phish-prone users to develop strong security habits.
Step One: Choose Your Remedial Training Content
Before you build your automated training process, plan how many rounds of remedial training you would like to create. The number of PSTs a user fails will determine how many rounds of training they’re assigned. For example, a user who fails two PSTs will be enrolled in two rounds of training. A standard remedial training plan includes three rounds of training, with one training campaign per round.
Once you’ve finished your planning, browse the ModStore to choose the training content you want to assign in each round of remedial training. We recommend selecting training content about common phishing threats and social engineering red flags. If you need help choosing training content, the Phish-Prone Recommendations section of the ModStore has training options for phish-prone users. Also, be sure to choose content that you haven’t assigned to any other training campaign. Adding unique content ensures that your remedial training Smart Groups will work properly.
Once you’ve selected your training content, you can begin creating your Smart Groups.
Step Two: Create a Smart Group for Each Round of Remedial Training
Next, create a Smart Group to correspond with each round of remedial training. Click on the tabs below to see the recommended settings for each Smart Group:
This Smart Group will include users who have failed one PST in the last month.
Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Remedial Training Round 1”. From the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Phish Event. Then, add the following criteria:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Phish Event: Select Failed Phishing Test. | |
3. Comparison: Select Equal. | |
4. Count: Select 1. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Range. For the first date selection, select the earliest date you want to see for your users’ phishing failures. Clear the value in the second date selection, as KSAT will accept all phishing failures that happened after the date you just selected. |
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6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
Then, from the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Training. Add the following criteria:
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1. Condition: Select Must Not. |
2. Training Event: Select Completed. | |
3. Scope: Select All Selected. | |
4. Assignments: Select the assignments you want to assign to users in the first round of remedial training. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Range. For the first date selection, select the earliest date you want to see for your users’ phishing failures. Clear the value in the second date selection, as KSAT will accept all phishing failures that happened after the date you just selected. | |
6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Phish Event | User must have clicked on a phishing email once on or after [selected date]. |
Training | User must not have completed [selected assignment]. |
These users will be automatically enrolled in your Remedial Training Round 1 training campaign.
This Smart Group will include users who have failed more than one PST in a short period of time. These users will have already been enrolled in the training assignments from Round 1.
Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Remedial Training Round 2”. Navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Phish Event. Then, add the following criteria:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Phish Event: Select Failed Phishing Test. | |
3. Comparison: Select Equal. | |
4. Count: Select 2. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Range. For the first date selection, select the earliest date you want to see for your users’ phishing failures. Clear the value in the second date selection, as KSAT will accept all phishing failures that happened after the date you just selected. | |
6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
After you’ve added your phish event criterion, add your training criteria. For this Smart Group, you will need to add two training criteria.
To add your first training criteria, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must Not. |
2. Training Event: Select Completed. | |
3. Scope: Select All Selected. | |
4. Assignments: Select the training assignments that you want to use in the second round of remedial training. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Any. | |
6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
After you’ve added your first training criterion, add your second training criterion.
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Phish Event | User must have failed a phishing test exactly 2 times on or after [selected date]. |
Training | User must not have completed [second round assignment]. |
Training | User must have completed [first round assignment] |
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.
This Smart Group will include users who have failed three or more PSTs in a short period of time. These users will have already been enrolled in the training assignments from Round 1 and Round 2.Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Remedial Training Round 3”. Navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Phish Event. Then, add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Phish Event: Select Failed Phishing Test. | |
3. Comparison: Select Greater Than. | |
4. Count: Select 2. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Select Range. For the first date selection, select the earliest date you want to see for your users’ phishing failures. Clear the value in the second date selection, as KSAT will accept all phishing failures that happened after the date you just selected. | |
6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
Then, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must Not. |
2. Training Event: Select Completed. | |
3. Scope: Select All Selected. | |
4. Assignments: Select the content you want to use for your third round of remedial training. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Any. | |
6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
Then, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Training Event: Select Completed. | |
3. Scope: Select All Selected. | |
4. Assignments: Select the content you used for the second round of remedial training. | |
5. Time Frame: Select Any. | |
6. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Phish Event | User must have failed a phishing test more than 2 times on or after [selected date]. |
Training | User must not have completed [third round assignment]. |
Training | User must have completed [second round assignment] |
If you would like to add additional rounds of remedial training, create more Smart Groups using the Round 3 criteria. Make sure to adjust the content in your training criteria so they apply to the correct training rounds.
Step Three: Create Supporting Smart Groups
We recommend making two Smart Groups to support your remedial training process: a successful users Smart Group and an auditing Smart Group. Click the tabs below to view the recommended settings for each Smart Group:
The successful users Smart Group will include users who have not failed a PST since they finished remedial training. You can use this group to measure the success of your remedial training.
Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Remedial Training Successful Users”. Navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select After Training. Then, add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criterion listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criterion will state:
After Training | User must not have failed a phishing test after completing [first round assignment]. |
Remember that users in this group must have completed all of the content selected in your criterion. For example, if you select content from Rounds 1, 2, and 3 of remedial training, your Smart Group will only include users who have completed all three rounds.
The auditing Smart Group will include users who have failed PSTs but who did not get enrolled in remedial training. You can use this Smart Group to verify that your remedial training process is working properly.
Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Remedial Training Audit Group”. Navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and click Phish Event. Then, add the following criterion:
Then, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Add the following criteria:
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Phish Event | User must have failed a phishing test more than 2 times after completing [first round assignment]. |
Training | User must not have been enrolled in [selected assignments]. |
Step Four: Create a Training Campaign for Each Round
Now that you’ve created your Smart Groups, you can create your corresponding training campaigns.
Click on the tabs below to see the recommended settings for each campaign.
For your Round 1 remedial training campaign, we recommend that you use the settings listed below:
For your Round 2 remedial training campaign, we recommend that you use the settings listed below:
For your Round 3 remedial training campaign, we recommend that you use the settings listed below:
If you planned more than three rounds of remedial training, repeat the steps above to make a campaign for each additional round.
Automated Periodic Training
Automated periodic training allows you to set up phases of training that will be periodically assigned to your users. This process works best if you want to assign training modules in a specific order or at specific times, rather than assigning all of the modules to your users at once.
Step One: Plan Your Periodic Training Timeline
We recommend planning your full periodic training timeline before you create any Smart Groups or training campaigns. This timeline should include the training modules you want to assign to your users in each phase of your periodic training process.
Follow the steps below to plan your periodic training timeline:
- Decide how many phases of periodic training you would like to set up. The number of phases you create will depend on your organization’s goals and how much training content you want your users to complete.
- Browse the ModStore to choose the training content you want to assign to each phase. Make sure you add the content to your Library subtab so you can use it in your training campaigns.
- Determine the order in which your users should receive the training content.
- Decide when each phase of training should begin. For example, you could assign one phase of training per month.
Step Two: Create a Smart Group for Each Phase of Your Process
Next, create a Smart Group for each phase of your training plan. For this example, we have outlined criteria for two phases of periodic training. Click on the tabs below to view the recommended settings for each Smart Group:
This Smart Group will include all users in your organization other than your new hires. This is the starting point for your training plan.
Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Periodic Training Phase 1”. From the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select User Date. Then, add the following criterion to the Smart Group:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Date Type: Select Created. | |
3. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select Prior to the last, 1, and Months. | |
4. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
Then, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
User Date | User must have been created prior to the last month. |
Training | User must not have completed [selected assignment]. |
This Smart Group will include users who have completed the content from Phase 1 of your training plan, but have not completed any Phase 2 content yet.
Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “Periodic Training Phase 2”. Navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
Then, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Training | User must have completed [phase 1 assignments]. |
Training | User must not have completed [phase 2 assignments]. |
To create additional training phase Smart Groups, repeat the format of your Phase 2 group. Make sure to adjust the content in your criteria so that they apply to the correct training phases.
Step Three: Create Your Training Campaigns
Lastly, create a training campaign for each phase of your process. To complete this process, you will assign your Smart Groups to these campaigns.
Click on the tabs below to see the recommended settings for each campaign. You can configure any additional settings to your liking.
For your Phase 1 periodic training campaign, we recommend that you use the settings listed below:
For your Phase 2 periodic training campaign, we recommend cloning the Phase 1 training campaign and editing that campaign. Follow the settings and steps below to create your Phase 2 campaign:
- In your KSAT console, navigate to Training > Campaigns.
- Click the Actions drop-down menu on the right side of your Round 1 campaign.
- From the Actions drop-down menu that displays, click Clone.
- Open the cloned campaign and edit the following settings:
- Campaign Name: Enter an identifiable name, such as “Periodic Training Phase 2”.
- Content: Select the content you chose for Phase 2 of your training plan.
- Enroll Users: Click Specific Users, then select your Periodic Training Phase 2 Smart Group.
The remaining settings should be the same as the Phase 1 training campaign.
Repeat the steps listed in the Phase 2 tab for any additional phases of training you would like to create. Make sure that you have a matching training campaign for every Smart Group you created for periodic training.
Additional Automated Training Processes
In addition to remedial training and periodic training, you can use Smart Groups to automate a variety of training processes. The sections below outline some common examples of automated training processes. You can customize all of these processes to meet your organization’s needs.
Click the links below for tips on how to automate training processes based on the following factors:
New Hire Training
We recommend using Smart Groups to automatically enroll new hires in security training as you add them to your KSAT console.
Before you begin, browse the ModStore to choose the training content you want to assign to your new hires. Remember to add your selected training content to your Library subtab so you can assign it to a campaign.
This Smart Group will include all of your new hires. Create a Smart Group and name it something identifiable, such as “New Hires”. From the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select User Date. Then, add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Date Type: Select Created. | |
3. Time Frame: Select Duration. Then, select your desired timeframe. | |
4. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, click Save. |
Now, select your training criterion. From the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Training.
Then, add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
User Date | User must have been created in the last [timeframe]. |
Training | User must not have completed [new hire assignment]. |
This user date criterion will work whether you use Active Directory Integration or you import your users manually.
Once you’ve created your Smart Group, create your new hire training campaign and assign it to the Smart Group. When you create this training campaign, make sure you select the same content that you selected for your training criterion.
Annual Training
We recommend using Smart Groups to automate annual training assignments for your users. You can customize this process to target specific characteristics, such as users who have already completed new hire training or users who are overdue for annual training.
Annual Refresher Training
This Smart Group will include users who have not completed annual security training in the last 11 months.
Before you begin, browse the ModStore to choose training content for your refresher training campaign. Remember to add your selected training content to your Library subtab so you can assign it to a campaign.
To create this Smart Group, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criterion listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criterion will state:
Training | User must not have completed [annual training assignment] in the last 11 months. |
Then, create an annual training campaign and assign it to this Smart Group. When you create your campaign, make sure you select the same content that you selected in your Smart Group.
Annual Training After New Hire Training
This Smart Group helps you automatically assign annual refresher training to your users.
To create this Smart Group, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criteria:
Then, from the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Training. Add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Training | User must have been enrolled in [selected assignment] in the last [new hire campaign duration]. |
Training | User must not have completed [annual training assignment] in the last 12 months. |
Then, create an annual training campaign and assign it to this Smart Group. When you create your campaign, make sure you select the same content that you selected for your Smart Group.
Users Not Trained in the Past Year
This Smart Group will include users who haven’t been assigned training in the past year. We recommend using this group to find users who are overdue for annual refresher training.
To create this Smart Group, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criteria:
After you've filled out the criterion listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criterion will state:
Training | User must not have been enrolled in any available courses in the last 12 months. |
Specific User Training Needs
There are a variety of Smart Groups you can create based on specific user information. For example, you can group inactive users to exclude them from your training campaigns. You can also use Smart Groups to identify users with overdue training assignments so you can send reminders to those users.
Users with Overdue Training
This Smart Group will include users who have overdue training assignments in any current training campaign.
To create this Smart Group, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must Not. |
2. Training Event: Select Completed. | |
3. Scope: Select Any Available. | |
4. Time Frame: Select Any. | |
5. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, select Save. |
Then, from the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Training. Add the following criterion:
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1. Condition: Select Must. |
2. Training Event: Select Enrolled. | |
3. Scope: Select Any Available. | |
4. Time Frame: Select Any. | |
5. Save: After you’ve filled out the fields above, select Save. |
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Training | User must not have completed any available courses. |
Training | User must have been enrolled in any available courses. |
Exclude Specific Users from Campaigns that are Assigned to All Users
This Smart Group allows you to exclude certain users from campaigns that are assigned to all of your users. We recommend creating this Smart Group if you have unmonitored admin accounts or any other inactive accounts in your KSAT console. Including inactive users in your campaigns may skew your Phish-prone Percentage and campaign results.
First, create a static user group for your inactive accounts. Name it something identifiable, such as “Inactive Users”.
After you make your static group, create a Smart Group to filter out your inactive users. Name this Smart Group something identifiable, such as “Phishable and Trainable Users”.
To create this Smart Group, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select User Field. Then, add the following criterion:
After you've filled out the criterion listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criterion will state:
Training | The group name must not be equal to [inactive user group name]. |
Untrained Users With At Least X PST Failures
This Smart Group will include users who have recently failed multiple PSTs and have not completed security training. We recommend using this Smart Group to track phish-prone users who could benefit from completing training.
To create this Smart Group, navigate to the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu and select Training. Then, add the following criteria:
Then, from the Smart Group Criteria drop-down menu, select Phish Event. Enter the following criteria:
After you've filled out the criteria listed above, click Save under the Smart Group Criteria section. Your finished criteria will state:
Training | User must not have completed any available courses in the last [timeframe]. |
Phish Event | User must have failed a phishing test more than 2 times in the last [timeframe]. |