2020 Phishing Trends Report
Open, click and submission rates from simulated phishing emails sent in 2019, by department and by industry.
Archive edition. This report uses 2019 phishing simulation data, so the rates are dated. Comparing results by department and industry may still help you decide where to focus training first. See the latest
What the data shows
- 32.09%Of simulated phishing emails sent to over 410,000 employees in 2019, 32.09% had the link or attachment clicked.Page 5, in the full report
- 12.71%Of 2019 simulation emails, 12.71% led to information being submitted, against 12.87% the year before.Page 5, in the full report
- 83.30%Consulting had the highest open rate of any industry in the 2019 data.Page 11, in the full report
- 43.35%Apparel & Accessories had the highest information submission rate of any industry in the 2019 data.Page 13, in the full report
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What the report covers
- Executive summary
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Statistics overview
- Department analysis
- Industry analysis
- Conclusion
Who it is for
Security and awareness leads who want to compare phishing simulation results by department and industry.
How the data was collected
- Sample
- Simulated phishing emails sent to over 410,000 target employees
- Period
- 1 January 2019 to 1 January 2020
- Source
- Anonymous data from organisations using Keepnet's cloud platform
- Note
- The number of organisations and the sample size per industry are not stated. Clicks and attachment downloads are combined into one click rate.
Cite this report
Keepnet (2020). 2020 Phishing Trends Report. https://keepnetlabs.com/reports/2020-phishing-trends-report
Figures on this page may be quoted with this citation.
Phishing Simulator
Run multi-channel phishing simulations, not email-only, and measure behaviour before and after.
About this report
It uses results from simulated phishing emails sent to over 410,000 target employees in 2019. The data comes from organisations on Keepnet's cloud platform and was evaluated anonymously.
Legal/Audit/Internal Control, Quality Management/Health and Purchasing/Administrative Affairs. These were the same top three as the year before.
Consulting, Apparel & Accessories, Education, Technology and Conglomerates were the top five for clicks. Consulting led at 63.28%.
Keep reading
The Mobile Phishing Visibility Gap
~40%higher click rate on phone-based simulations than on email (Verizon DBIR 2026).Read the key findings
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76% vs 60%Most large firms train employees, yet human factors still sit behind most breaches.Read the key findings
2025 New Hires Phishing Susceptibility Report
44%more susceptible to phishing: new hires in their first 90 days compared with tenured employeesRead the key findings
2024 Voice Phishing (Vishing) Response Report
6.5%of 3,279 employees called shared sensitive information during simulated vishing calls.Read the key findings
2018 Phishing Trends Report
12.87%of simulated phishing emails led to information being submitted in 2018, up from 7.9% the year before.Read the key findings
Statistical Analysis of 126,000 Phishing Simulations Carried Out in 128 Companies Around the World
48.2%of simulated phishing emails were opened by the target in 2017.Read the key findings
The State of the Smish Report 2023
74%of organisations experienced a smishing attack in 2021, according to Safety Detectives.Read the key findings
2021 Email Security Vulnerability Report
90.56%of checked malicious test emails reached the target inbox past the security tools in place.Read the key findings
See how Keepnet would act on these findings for you
- Run multi-channel simulationsFrom email through to deepfake.
- See reporting outcomes and the behaviour scoreReporting, repeat behaviour and remediation, in one board report.
- Explore AI agents and automationSee how simulations, training and follow-up can run with less manual work.
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