🌐 Phishing Awareness Simulation Platform

🎓 Academic Project Overview

• Institution: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Ramdeobaba University, Nagpur
• Author: Advait Kawale
• Academic Level: 2nd Year CSE
• Purpose: Controlled Educational Demonstration & Security Awareness Training

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🎯 Educational Mission & Focus

This project is a controlled security awareness simulation utility built as an academic study on the human factors of cybersecurity. Security awareness simulations are critical in educating non-technical users about social engineering tactics, transforming abstract theoretical threats into observable, hands-on learning experiences.

The primary objective is to demonstrate human vulnerability points in cybersecurity and train users to look for key visual and technical indicators of credential-harvesting attacks (e.g., domain mismatches, lack of secure indicators, and psychological urgency triggers).

Warning

LEGAL AND ETHICAL DISCLAIMER This software is strictly intended for authorized educational simulations, local testing, and academic grading purposes.

• It must never be deployed in uncontrolled settings or used against real users without their explicit, prior written consent.
• The author and developers assume no liability for misuse, unauthorized installations, or damage resulting from the deployment of this tool outside of authorized academic and corporate training boundaries.

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💡 How Phishing Awareness Simulators Work

A standard phishing simulation mirrors real-world social engineering attack vectors to assess user vulnerability. In a controlled training scenario, the lifecycle follows a structured loop:

graph TD
    classDef default fill:#1E1E2E,stroke:#89B4FA,stroke-width:2px,color:#CDD6F4;
    classDef target fill:#313244,stroke:#F38BA8,stroke-width:1px,color:#F38BA8;
    classDef process fill:#1E1E2E,stroke:#A6E3A1,stroke-width:2px,color:#A6E3A1;

    A[1. Trainer configures Campaign] --> B(2. Safe Simulation Email Sent)
    B --> C{3. Recipient clicks Link?}
    C -- No --> D[Recipient is Safe / Training Passed]
    C -- Yes --> E(4. Redirected to Simulated Login Page)
    E --> F{5. Enters mock data?}
    F -- No --> G[Safe Redirect / Awareness Alerted]
    F -- Yes --> H(6. Simulated Log Captured & User Safely Warned)

    class C,F target;
    class A,B,E,H process;

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1. Campaign Configuration: An administrator sets up a simulated campaign containing custom mock emails and safe templates.
2. Delivery Stage: The simulated message is routed to designated test inboxes (using sandboxed environments like Mailtrap).
3. Observation: If the test subject opens the link, they land on a localized mock landing page.
4. Redirection & Remediation: The platform safely catches the interaction, alerts the user that this was a test, and redirects them to the official resource alongside micro-learning modules explaining what indicators they missed.

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🛠️ Technology Stack

• Core Framework: Laravel 10.x (Expressive PHP MVC engine for secure routing and session handling)
• Frontend styling: Tailwind CSS & Blade Templates (Creating visual representations of common interfaces)
• Database engine: MySQL / SQLite (Campaign metric storage, event logs, and training telemetry)
• Testing Sandbox: Laravel Mailer integrated with Mailtrap or local SMTP servers

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🏗️ Core System Structure

• Campaign Management: Full CRUD interface allowing administrators to create, schedule, and edit simulation runs.
• Telemetry Dashboard: Aggregates overall campaign results, tracking click-through rates and completion times for academic data collection.
• Redirection Pipeline: Safe and automatic route forwarding that intercepts active tests and redirects users to security awareness advice pages.

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🚀 Local Installation & Deployment

To run this project locally in a sandboxed, loopback testing environment:

Prerequisites:

• PHP $\ge 8.1$
• Composer
• Node.js & NPM
• Local database server (e.g., MySQL, SQLite)

Installation Steps:

1. Navigate to the Project Root:

   cd PhishingSim

2. Install Composer Dependencies:

   composer install

3. Install and Build Frontend Assets:

   npm install
   npm run build

4. Environment Configuration: Copy the example environment configuration file:

   cp .env.example .env

   Generate your application encryption key:

   php artisan key:generate

   Edit the .env file to configure your local database connection and local sandboxed SMTP settings (e.g., Mailtrap).

5. Run Migrations & Seed Database:

   php artisan migrate

6. Start Local Development Server:

   php artisan serve

   Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 in your web browser to access the administrator dashboard.