Lynda.com (now offered as part of LinkedIn Learning) is an elearning course library acquired and now supported by LinkedIn in May 2015.
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Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Score10 out of 10
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Proofpoint Security Awareness Training (formerly ThreatSim from Wombat Security) is a cloud-based training platform that simulates threat scenarios (e.g. phishing) and also provides assessment testing developed by Wombat Technologies, which was acquired by Proofpoint in March 2018.
I've learned hundreds of software applications over the last several decades, and trained teams in offices and one-on-one. At one point, books and trade magazines were a great way to get up to speed with an application, but they've become less and less effective for getting started. Video lessons have some strengths; you can get a rapid overview of a program's capabilities and watch an experienced user using its tools efficiently. On rare occasions they'll even point out bugs that could trip you up, but I wish instructors shared more of those issues. However, it takes a very self-motivated learner to sit through training sessions. Most people don't fit that category, and a subscription may end up gathering dust like a pandemic gym membership. My account is sometimes dormant for months, but then I'll be watching lessons continually the following month. I've often wondered if it was worth it for that reason. I have some friends that voraciously devoured class after Lynda.com class, and built successful careers on that training. But many others never use their account. It's helpful to consider whether you're a self-motivated learner. If not, it may not be the best format for you. More complicated software often can't be adequately introduced in a several-hour-long series of videos. I found Final Cut Pro (7) hard to learn online, also Logic Pro. Other somewhat complicated programs like DVD Pro were a snap to learn, and I learned a lot about PHP and Actionscript programming from Lynda.com. Some web and graphics software is exceptionally explained by real experts, such as Lynda's Photoshop classes, which are the best I've seen on that subject. Many of her web production courses will take you every step along the way to creating your own website, even if you haven't coded before. Adobe and Apple have both published similar project-based tutorial classes in book form, and I think they're a bit more polished, but the video instructor can help move you along through all the content more easily. Learning software seems to work better from an online video than a book these days; it's helpful to already be sitting at the computer where you're able to try everything out as it's explained. Most people don't seem to retain software principles unless they're trying them while learning. A bad instructor can make it difficult to sit through a video class. Lynda.com and others generally have a large variety of content creators, so you're not as limited with instructors as you might be at a University, where the same instructor may teach several related applications. Departmental faculty may have much more targeted and creative applications for your software though, while paid corporate software training can be mind-numbingly bad. Continuing ed classes that I've taken usually seemed to just focus on learning the tools in a software product. They often don't or even can't show you how to apply the software for your purposes as full time faculty at a University might. Some Lynda.com instructors weren't great, but most seemed a cut above the continuing ed and corporate software trainers I've learned from or contracted. The majority of the classes seemed to apply the software for an impressive final project. Redundancy is a real drawback among the online lessons. Often the advanced classes repeat many of the concepts from the introductory "Essentials" courses. If you know an earlier version of an application and just want to learn new features, a book may be a faster route to your goal. I originally suggested the "New Features" lessons that Lynda began to offer for updated releases, and I think they're especially helpful. It's much harder to skim through a video than a page of text, so I'd anticipate having to complement your Lynda.com lessons with other instructional materials. Lynda.com didn't have as many of the "fluff" courses that LinkedIn is now offering. These titles read like articles from Cosmo. They might be better served to offer "How to respond to a connection request from a recruiter who works in a field completely unrelated to you."
Perfect for regular (monthly) training of staff versus a "one and done" annual assignment on Cyber Security. Allows for a greater number of topics to be covered and for creating a "culture" of security awareness among all Staff throughout the entire company. NOT a replacement for IT Security Certifications amongst your technical staff (CISSPs & GSLCs on staff are a must have). Your Proofpoint Account Rep does most of the heavy lifting, but the program still requires "care and feeding" (resources) within your organization - preparing monthly user lists for training assignments and preparing reports for leadership on participation & progress
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Industry expert authors/instructors - you're learning from people with pedigree.
Breadth and depth of catalog - not only is there a wide range of topics and disciplines, but there are frequently several levels of depth within each (eg. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced).
Time needed to complete each course AND each section of a course are included - you know what you're getting into from the first click.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
The lack of a user rating on "cyber risk" is proving to be an immense difficulty. As we are looking at how to better hold our employees accountable as well as provide increased learning opportunities for those who need it most, it is becoming cumbersome--especially given the fact this is starting to become the standard for Security Awareness companies. The lack of this is resulting in a manual process vs being able to automate and moderate, thus taking up time and resources, which are always at a scarcity. It can also be cumbersome to look across the tools to see how a particular user is doing, vs being able to view all of their data in one space.
If you are a marketer, the editors for the Phishing Templates and Teachable Moments are quite frustrating. They feel out of date and clunky, as well as not featuring an auto-save, so you could lose the templates you are building. At this point, I have actually started to work in other email creation editors and learning HTML, to better customize and then moving all of the code into the editor. It has thus far proven to be less of a headache. I also do not believe the average user is working on branding their program, creating consistency for easy of navigation, and including additional resources in their teachable moments in the way we currently are. However, as more social science backgrounds continue to enter security awareness, I believe this will move towards the norm.
Some of the reporting numbers for Simulated Phishing could be better. For example, telling me how many people acknowledged the teachable moment out of the full email campaign is less meaningful than knowing how many people acknowledged it, from those who actually triggered/were shown the teachable moment.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
It can help all employees learn to strengthen current skills or to learn new skills and then can learn to excel in their current department or they learn a new skills in a new department creating interconnection and cross-departmental value in a company.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
We have a good relationship with our vendor/Proofpoint, which I believe is needed to be successful in Security Awareness and using tools like this
The package/service as a whole is incredibly helpful
The integrations with Proofpoint's Trap is one of the most valuable things we could do. It turns your entire email user base into members of IT security, to be on the look out to report cyber attacks, and have them pulled out of everyone's email if the email is condemed/found malicious.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
The platform is very easy to use and navigate, the content is clearly itemised via the Contents section and the video playback speed can be adjusted. It's also useful to have optional captions (I always use them) and a transcript for accessibility purposes.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Overall, PSAT is integral to what we do. PSAT is a helpful tool to help us improve our employees ability to recognize, report, and respond to phishing. It works for us to use a longterm partner, who is incredibly helpful/supportive, and also bringing Proofpoint's greater cybersecurity & attack intelligence into PSAT. Honestly, we are pretty happy and would make the choice to go with PSAT again (we evaluated the major players in the space via Gartner's Magic Quadrant). The team behind the products are excellent and the product of itself is both intuitive and expansive. This combination allows us to reach our 10k+ employees who are located in over 20 countries
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
The technical team behind LinkedIn Learning (or Lynda.com) knows their job, and they usually solve problems very quickly. While I haven't had many run-ins with them (thus the low rating), I do find that when we call them, the problem gets resolved in a reasonable amount of time. The flip-side of this comment is that we never have needed to call them with a high-priority issue.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Proofpoint support has always been above average. A lot of companies provide a customer service manager for your account but few have proved as connected as Proofpoint. The CSM was able to give us a good start with the product and checked in periodically. I found them always helpful with any questions and very knowledgeable about the platform.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
By implementation we are able to achieve 1.Skill improvement 2.Reduced burden on training staff 3.Learning new market leading technologies like Generative AI.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Our organization has used different webinars, including ones on LinkedIn, to provide similar insight. But it's a totally different ballgame. Lynda.com offers in-depth tutorials rather than just a 2-hour video broadcast. With lynda.com there are more information and experts, as well as so many different courses fit for every need/want. There is also a lot more flexibility with lynda. You can take it on the go, watch on mobile and at anytime, rather than being tied to a certain time slot.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
All three products have the pros and cons. Since we use other Proofpoint products, TAP, TRAP, etc. the integration with PSAT is much better. The other products do not integrate with TRAP nearly as well as PSAT.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
I can't think of a negative impact that Lynda.com has when it relates to the extensive library of training software that is available to subscribers. I'm lucky that my job provides a free subscription for instructors. I use Lynda.com to hone in on my technical skills.
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info
Positively made our staff more aware of current phishing threats.
Gives our staff a sense of accomplishment when they recognize a phishing email.
Helped reinforce our values in the mandatory Information Security training each employee takes (for example, they are already aware of the signs of a phishing email before they take the training).
A de minimis incentive was given to thank the reviewer for their time. The incentive was not used to bias or drive a particular response, nor was the incentive contingent on a positive endorsement. More Info