Nationwide Retail Chain Falls Victim to Phishing Attempts Amid Poor Staff Awareness

The Challenge

MapleCross Retail, a nationwide Canadian retailer, experienced multiple targeted phishing attacks aimed at its corporate email and store management systems. Employees inadvertently clicked on malicious links, exposing internal credentials and sensitive operational data. The lack of staff awareness and formal training programs contributed to the success of these attacks. Without intervention, the company faced:

PIPEDA compliance risk

Potential financial losses

Operational disruption due to compromised accounts.

Our Solution

Our Awareness and Communications Training team worked with MapleCross Retail to:

Conduct a phishing risk assessment and simulate attack scenarios to identify staff vulnerability.

Develop and implement a comprehensive staff awareness and training program focused on phishing recognition and cybersecurity hygiene.

Establish ongoing testing and feedback loops to reinforce training effectiveness.

Provide management with reports on staff compliance, phishing test results, and risk mitigation progress.

Integrate awareness training into onboarding and periodic refreshers for all employees.

The Value

Reduced phishing susceptibility across all employees by over 60% within three months.

Improved operational resilience by decreasing risk of account compromise and internal breaches.

Strengthened regulatory compliance under PIPEDA through documented staff training and awareness.

Enhanced organizational culture of cybersecurity mindfulness.

Implementation Roadmap

Risk Assessment: Evaluate current phishing exposure and staff vulnerabilities.

Simulation Exercises: Conduct controlled phishing tests to identify weak points.

Training Program Deployment: Implement formal awareness and communications training.

Monitoring and Feedback: Track employee performance and progress.

Reporting: Provide management with actionable insights on training effectiveness.

Continuous Improvement: Integrate ongoing simulations and refresher courses.

Info Sheet

Necessary Action Type and Steps: Phishing assessment, staff training deployment, simulation exercises, monitoring, reporting.

Sector: Retail Trade

Applicable Legislation: PIPEDA, Canadian cybersecurity laws.

Third Parties: Training providers, internal HR, IT security team.