College Rolls Out Phishing Simulation and Awareness Training After Student Account Takeover Spikes

The Challenge

In early spring, Mapleview College, a mid-sized post-secondary institution in Ontario, faced a surge of account takeovers that exposed gaps in its digital learning environment. Over three weeks, more than 100 student email accounts were compromised during a coordinated phishing campaign. Attackers impersonated campus IT staff and sent warnings about 'urgent account suspensions' due to 'storage quota limits.'

The messages were convincing. They used the college’s logo, tone, and signature format. Many students, worried about losing access to coursework and exam portals, clicked a fraudulent link and entered their credentials on a spoofed login page. Within hours, threat actors accessed personal details such as contact information, submitted assignments, and, in some cases, saved tuition payment data.

The situation escalated quickly. Compromised accounts were used to send additional phishing emails across the community, which amplified the impact and complicated detection. IT support queues grew rapidly as students reported lockouts, and faculty received unusual messages from student accounts.

From a privacy standpoint, the incident was significant. Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the college needed to assess and record any breach that posed a real risk of significant harm. Because some accounts contained home addresses and financial records, the Privacy Office consulted legal counsel to determine notification requirements.

Operations were disrupted during final exam preparation. Access to the learning management system was inconsistent, and trust in the institution’s safeguards declined. Local media coverage raised concerns about cybersecurity readiness in higher education, a sector that relies heavily on cloud platforms.

Internally, the administration recognized that technology controls were not enough. The college had spam filtering and multi-factor authentication, but awareness of phishing indicators remained low among new and returning students. Credential reuse and limited onboarding training created conditions that attackers exploited.

By the time the spread was contained, reputational damage had started to build. Donor communications were delayed while security reviews took place, and external partners requested assurances about data-sharing protocols. The executive team concluded that a sustained, human-focused cybersecurity awareness program was essential to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Our Solution

We designed and implemented a comprehensive Phishing Simulation and Awareness Training program to reduce human-factor risk and align practices with Canadian privacy requirements.

Key elements included:

  • A simulation platform that mirrored academic and administrative phishing themes common in higher education.
  • Adaptive micro-learning content for students, faculty, and administrative staff, delivered through the LMS and new-student onboarding.
  • A communication plan that reinforced messages through newsletters, faculty meetings, and campus displays.
  • Compliance workshops aligned to PIPEDA and the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) to ensure appropriate notifications, consent practices, and data handling.
  • An executive dashboard with metrics such as click rate, report rate, and time-to-report to track behaviour change.

All data collected during simulations was anonymized and handled according to privacy law and institutional policy.

The Value

Within one academic term, the program delivered measurable gains:

  • Phishing click rates decreased by 72 percent over six months.
  • Average response time for credential incidents dropped from 12 hours to under 2 hours.
  • Participation in required training exceeded 90 percent.
  • The college met PIPEDA record-keeping and notification duties for the incident and improved overall compliance readiness.
  • Student survey scores related to data trustworthiness improved by 18 percent.

Beyond metrics, the initiative strengthened culture and clarified shared responsibilities for cybersecurity.

Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Containment and Assessment (Weeks 1–2)

  • Reset compromised accounts and enforce MFA.
  • Complete a PIPEDA risk-of-harm assessment and initiate notifications where required.
  • Coordinate legal, IT, and communications workstreams.

Phase 2: Program Design and Policy Updates (Weeks 3–6)

  • Conduct a gap analysis of awareness practices and digital behaviour.
  • Create realistic simulation templates based on observed attack patterns.
  • Update Acceptable Use, Incident Response, and Data Handling policies.

Phase 3: Launch and Monitor (Months 2–4)

  • Roll out simulations through the LMS.
  • Track engagement, clicks, and reporting accuracy.
  • Provide just-in-time learning modules to users who interacted with phishing content.

Phase 4: Improve and Institutionalize (Months 5–8)

  • Deliver quarterly executive reports with KPI trends.
  • Review CASL-aligned communications and refine consent and notification practices.
  • Plan for annual curriculum integration of cybersecurity fundamentals.