SOCIAL ENGINEERING SIMULATION
Your phishing sim is one channel behind. And it's built to trick, not teach.
The ethical, more comprehensive replacement for phishing simulations — AI-native, tailored to a person's role, played out in-browser in a safe simulated environment with real-time responses. Every scenario ends in a teachable moment, never a gotcha.
Switched On Security is built by Adam Smallhorn, who has taught cybersecurity at UNSW since 2017 and led security-culture and cyber-outreach programs at Okta and Australia's largest bank.No spam, no sales sequence — you'll talk to the founder.
Northbeam
Social engineering sim
Real social engineering doesn't arrive as one email
Most phishing simulations exist to trick employees — one email, once a quarter, scored as a pass or fail. They sow mistrust and a gotcha mentality, and they only ever test the inbox, when the worst attacks today are social engineering that starts innocent and turns malicious across LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp and voice, not just email.
Those programs don't encourage the behaviours that actually matter — checking a sender's headers, searching the staff directory or a profile for corroboration — and they don't flex realistically to how a real conversation unfolds. A static email template can't do either.
The Social Engineering Simulation is AI-native and role-tailored: it plays out a realistic, multi-channel exchange in your browser and responds to what the person does in real time, rewarding investigation and reporting instead of punishing a single click.
- to play a scenario, no signup
- 2 min
- to play a scenario, no signup
- channels simulated: LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, email
- 4
- channels simulated: LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, email
Concept demo
Play one right now — a recruiter just messaged you. Reply, investigate, or report.
Synthetic data. No signup. Two minutes.
Northbeam
Social engineering sim
Why it's different
Built around practice, not policy
Multi-channel — LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, email
The same breadth of channels a real attacker actually uses, not just an inbox.
AI-native and role-tailored
Scenarios are generated and adapted to a person's actual role, and respond in real time to what they do — not a fixed template everyone gets.
Rewards checking, not just caution
Checking headers, searching the staff directory, verifying a profile — the simulation is built to encourage exactly those habits.
Teachable moments, never a gotcha
Every scenario ends in coaching for the individual, not a disciplinary record or a shame message.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is this just another phishing test?
No. It's the ethical replacement for one — multi-channel, role-tailored, and built so investigating or reporting always counts as a good outcome, never a trap.
Which channels are simulated?
LinkedIn DMs, SMS, WhatsApp and email — modelled on how real multi-channel social engineering actually happens, starting innocent and turning malicious the way real attacks do.
What happens when someone gets it wrong?
Nothing punitive. They see a teachable moment explaining the tell they missed and how to catch it next time — never a shame message, never a discipline record.
Can employees always report?
Yes — one tap, from every surface, at any point in the scenario. Reporting always counts as a good outcome.
Is this affiliated with LinkedIn, Meta or WhatsApp?
No. The simulation recreates the look and feel of familiar chat and social surfaces for realism, but it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or built on the real LinkedIn, Meta or WhatsApp platforms — everything runs on our own synthetic data.
Ready to see social engineering simulation on your own team?
Switched On Security is in active development with a small group of design partners — early access is free, and it shapes the roadmap.
Ask us about the Social Engineering Simulation
Every enquiry gets a short call with the founder to talk it through — not an instant trial, not a sales sequence.
Prefer to talk?
Book a 25-minute call directly — no form, no back-and-forth.
Book a 25-minute callSwitched On Security is built by Adam Smallhorn, who has taught cybersecurity at UNSW since 2017 and led security-culture and cyber-outreach programs at Okta and Australia's largest bank.