It is therefore crucial to invest not only in technology, but also in people. Security Awareness training makes employees alert and resilient. It is a continuous process: threats evolve, so your team must evolve with them.

Make investing in knowledge and awareness a good intention for 2026. Technology alone is not enough.

The reality of phishing

Phishing is not a new phenomenon, but it is getting smarter and more dangerous. It is an evolving danger. Cybercriminals today are increasingly deploying AI to make emails hyper-realistic. Think of:

• Perfectly replicated logos and corporate identity
  Fraudsters copy visual elements from your organisation or partners, making emails look 100% authentic.
• Personalised salutation 
  Stolen or public data make the mail seem personal and trustworthy, which increases the likelihood of clicks.
• Domains that are barely distinguishable from the real thing
  One extra letter or a subtle difference in the web address is often invisible to a busy employee.

The consequences of one wrong click

A single click on a phishing link can have a huge impact. Consider:

• Data breaches: sensitive information in the wrong hands
  Customer data, financial data or intellectual property are some of the things that can be captured.
• Ransomware: systems held hostage and production shut down
  Companies are forced to pay ransoms to regain access to their own systems.
• Financial fraud: CEO fraud and fake invoices
  Cybercriminals trick employees by posing as the CEO or managers of companies to transfer large sums of money to fraudulent accounts.

How best to tackle these threats?

1. KnowBe4: the world's largest Security Awareness platform

KnowBe4 is the market leader and offers several benefits to reduce human risk within your organisation:

• Over 1,500 courses in 35+ languages, from Hollywood productions to short animations.
• Phishing simulations: AI-driven, with thousands of templates, function-based and even vishing (voice phishing) and smishing (SMS).
• Smart Groups offering personalised campaigns based on behaviour.
• Reports & Risk Scores provide insight into click rates and risk groups.
• Compliance training: GDPR, ISO, HIPAA and more.

On average, the Phish-prone Percentage drops from 30% to less than 5% in 12 months.

View our webinar on KnowBe4 for a live demo.

2. Phished: Belgian simplicity with AI

Phished stands out thanks to a number of interesting elements:

• Fully automated phishing simulations, personalised per employee.
• Gamified microtraining offers bi-weekly short 5-minute sessions.
• Zero Incident Mail™ provides a safe environment to make mistakes without risk.
• The Behavioral Risk Score® that provides continuous insight into your organisation-wide risk profile.
• Local storage & GDPR compliance: ISO 27001 and SOC2 certified.

After 3 months of use, the click rate already drops by 50%, after a year by 90 to 95%.

Want to know more? Request a trial account via our Security Awareness page.

3. Managed Security Awareness: total relief

No time to set up campaigns yourself? With our Managed Security Awareness, we take everything off your hands:

• Setting up training programmes
• Periodic phishing tests
• Reports and KPIs
• Continuous optimisation

This keeps your organisation alert, with no extra workload for the IT department.

Case Globachem: from vulnerable to resilient

Globachem, active in crop protection, faced social engineering attacks. Their IT manager realised: “It is not a question of if, but when.”

Together with VanRoey and KnowBe4, they launched a strategic awareness programme with:

• Annual surveys to determine focus points.
• Online training sessions taking place every six weeks.
• Ethical phishing mails: realistic AI-driven tests.
• Posters in the workplace that provide visual reminders.

The result? Click rates that dropped dramatically and employees reporting suspicious emails many times faster. As a result, Globachem now has a strong Human Firewall. Read the full Globachem case.

What exactly does Security Awareness deliver?

• Fewer incidents: employees recognise threats faster
  Regular training teaches employees to recognise phishing emails, suspicious links and social engineering techniques. This significantly reduces the risk of data breaches and ransomware.
• Compliance: meet GDPR and ISO standards
  Security Awareness is not only a best practice, but also a requirement in many compliance frameworks. It helps you demonstrably comply with GDPR and ISO 27001, avoiding fines and reputational damage.
• Cost savings: avoid costly data breaches and downtime
  On average, a phishing incident costs between €100,000 and €1 million. With an awareness programme of a few euros per user per month, you avoid production downtime, reputational damage and fines due to GDPR violation.
• Safer corporate culture: security becomes a reflex
  When employees handle risks consciously, a culture is created in which security is taken for granted. This not only strengthens your cyber resilience, but also the trust of customers and partners.

5 practical tips for 2026

1. Start small, but start now
2. Make it fun with gamification and rewards
3. Report and improve: dashboards make progress visible
4. Integrate Security Awareness into onboarding
5. Combine Security Awareness also with technology such as MFA, email filtering and endpoint security

Conclusion: Cybercriminals don't wait, neither do you!

With the right approach, you can stay one step ahead of them. At VanRoey, we can combine leading platforms such as KnowBe4 and Phished with our Managed Security Awareness services, so that your organisation not only deploys technology, but also builds a strong human firewall. If you want, we will take the entire process off your hands: from set-up and simulations to reporting and continuous optimisation.

Working together with VanRoey means total peace of mind, proven results and a partner who structurally reinforces your cyber defences. So you don't make security awareness a one-off action, but a sustainable part of your business strategy. Contact our experts and find out how we make your organisation safer.