What To Do if an Employee Clicked on a Phishing Email

Phishing emails remain one of the top cybersecurity risks for businesses. Acting quickly helps limit damage, prevent data theft, and keep threats from spreading across your company.

If an employee clicks a phishing email, take these immediate steps:

• Notify your IT/security team and begin a thorough investigation.
• Isolate the affected device from the network.
• Stop all interaction with suspicious sites or downloads.
• Disconnect the device from Wi-Fi, ethernet, and cloud services.
• Back up essential data if possible—avoid backing up anything suspicious.

In this guide, we walk through exactly what to do after a phishing click—covering immediate response, containment, recovery, and best practices to reduce future risk. These steps are based on real-world incident response protocols used by NetTech Consultants and leading cybersecurity teams.

Immediate Response Steps

If someone clicks a phishing link, you need to react quickly to limit the fallout. Isolate the device, protect your data, and disconnect from networks—these steps form the bedrock of a solid incident response.

Isolate the Affected Device

Start by cutting off the compromised device from everything else. That way, any malware can’t hop onto other machines.

Physically isolating the device means shutting it down completely—not just logging out or closing windows, since malware can keep running in the background.

For desktops, unplug the power and ethernet cable. If you’re dealing with a laptop, pull the battery if you can for a full shutdown.

Network isolation means turning off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile data before powering down. That stops any sneaky data from leaking out.

Jot down exactly when you isolated the device and its last known network activity. That info helps us trace what might’ve gotten out during a forensic review.

Do Not Provide Additional Information

Once someone’s clicked a bad link, they need to stop interacting with the phishing attempt right away. We see things get worse when people keep poking around or fill out forms.

Don’t enter credentials on any login page that pops up after clicking the link. Close all browser tabs or windows tied to the suspicious site, pronto.

Skip any downloads or software installs the phishing site offers. Those files often hide more malware.

Ignore phone calls from people claiming to “help” with the incident. Attackers sometimes follow up phishing emails with fake support calls to grab even more info.

Remind your team that real IT support won’t ask for passwords or personal info right after an incident. We set up clear ways for employees to report suspicious stuff.

Disconnect from Networks

You need to disconnect from networks to keep cyber-attacks from spreading. We use a few different methods to make sure the device is truly isolated.

Unplug ethernet cables for desktops. That’s the simplest way to cut off the connection.

Turn off Wi-Fi adapters and forget saved networks. On phones or tablets, just switch to airplane mode to kill all wireless signals.

Close VPN apps before disconnecting from the network. That blocks remote access to company systems.

Unmap shared drives and shut down cloud storage apps. This stops malware from reaching shared files or spreading further.

Keep an eye on network logs for anything odd coming from the affected device before you disconnect. That can help pinpoint what the phishing attack touched.

Back Up Essential Data

Before you start scanning for viruses or cleaning up, back up important data. We suggest a few steps to keep backups safe from malware.

Use an external hard drive for critical files. Pick one that won’t connect to other systems during cleanup.

Check cloud backups and turn off auto-sync to stop infected files from uploading.

Handle USB drives carefully. Use ones with write protection, and always scan backup devices for viruses first.

Prioritize business-critical files—think databases, customer info, and project data—before restoring systems or running deep scans.

Skip backing up executable files, browser data, or anything you downloaded recently. Those are most likely to be infected.

Containment and Investigation

After an employee clicks a phishing email, you need to contain the threat and dig into what happened. The goal is to isolate the device, scan for malware, figure out where the attack started, and work with your security team to get the full picture.

Assess the Scope of the Threat

Isolate the affected device from the network right away to stop malware from spreading. Unplug the ethernet cable or shut off Wi-Fi as soon as you spot the problem.

Device Isolation Checklist:

• Unplug network cables
• Turn off wireless connections
• Leave the device on for forensic work
• Write down the isolation time

Don’t let the employee delete the phishing email or any evidence. We need to keep everything for investigation.

Ask if the employee entered any login info on a phishing website. If so, disable those accounts and reset passwords immediately.

Find out what else the employee did after clicking. Did they download anything, enter personal data, or install programs? That helps us figure out the impact.

Conduct Malware and Virus Scans

Run full antivirus scans on the compromised device using more than one tool. We usually go with enterprise-level software that catches advanced threats.

Scanning Steps:

• Full system scan with updated virus definitions
• Boot-time scan for rootkits
• Memory scan for sneaky, fileless malware
• Registry check for odd changes

Phishing attacks sometimes drop ransomware or other nasties that basic antivirus might miss. We add tools like Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool or Malwarebytes to catch more.

Scan all network drives and shared folders, too. Malware can hit other systems in just minutes if it gets loose.

Save all scan results and quarantine anything suspicious. Keep detailed logs for later analysis and compliance.

Analyze Email Headers and Links

Check the email headers to see where the message came from and how it got through your filters. We pull sender details, routing info, and authentication records to track the attack.

Header Analysis:

• Look at sender reputation and domain
• Check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC results
• Review routing paths and timestamps
• Flag any weird IPs or domains

Analyze any links in the phishing email with safe URL tools. Watch out for shorteners, strange domains, or redirect chains leading to malicious sites.

Never click the links during analysis. Use sandboxes or safe tools to check where they go and what they do.

If the phishing site’s still up, report it to the right authorities for takedown.

Engage the IT and Security Team

Alert your IT and security folks as soon as you spot the phishing incident. Every minute counts—delays just give attackers more time.

What to Do:

• Escalate to your incident response team
• Activate security protocols
• Start threat hunting across the network
• Loop in outside security vendors if needed

The security team should monitor network traffic for signs of data theft or hacker communication.

We suggest extra monitoring on accounts and systems that might be exposed. Review access logs and watch for privilege escalation.

If you’re dealing with a big data breach or financial loss, contact law enforcement. Keep a record of everything you do for compliance and insurance.

Remediation and Recovery

If you discover someone clicked on a phishing email, jump into action to prevent stolen credentials and account takeovers. Focus on locking down accounts and watching for unauthorized access.

Change All Affected Passwords

Reset passwords right away for any accounts the employee used recently. This covers email, business apps, and any systems they touch often. Try to get this done within the first hour if you can.

Start with the most important:

• Email accounts (hackers love these)
• Admin accounts with extra power
• Financial systems and banking info
• Cloud services and SaaS tools

Don’t reuse passwords. Each account should get its own strong password—at least 12 characters, with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols.

Roll out a password manager if you don’t have one yet. It helps employees keep track of unique passwords without sticky notes or reusing old ones.

Update security questions and recovery settings. Attackers often target these, so change backup emails and phone numbers too.

Monitor Accounts for Unusual Activity

Set up extra monitoring on all accounts tied to the affected employee. Watch for strange logins, password changes, or odd access patterns for at least 72 hours.

Look for:

• Failed logins from unfamiliar locations
• Successful logins at weird hours
• Password reset requests the employee didn’t make
• New devices or browsers showing up

Go back 48 hours before the phishing incident to spot any earlier unauthorized access.

Keep a close eye on financial accounts for sketchy transactions. Check statements and any business systems the employee uses.

Scan the dark web for leaked info. Sometimes stolen credentials show up in underground markets pretty fast.

Implement Account Lockout if Needed

Lock accounts right away if you see signs of unauthorized access. That keeps things contained while you sort out the mess.

Add temporary restrictions even on accounts that seem fine. This could mean:

• Requiring multi-factor authentication
• Limiting access to business hours
• Restricting logins to known IPs

Set up temporary access so the employee can keep working while you secure things. Give them new logins for essential systems.

Track every lockout and recovery step for compliance and investigation. Note which accounts you locked, when you restored access, and what new security you added.

Restore access slowly once you’re sure accounts are safe and you’ve put better protections in place. Test each account before turning everything back on.

Notification, Reporting, and Prevention

Once you’ve contained the threat, it’s time to document what happened, report it as needed, and beef up your defenses. That means alerting the right people, educating your team, upgrading security tools, and running regular phishing tests.

Report the Incident Internally and Externally

Write up the incident right away, with clear timestamps, affected systems, and a rundown of employee actions. This audit trail helps with internal reviews and any outside reporting.

Internally, make sure you:

• Notify IT security within an hour
• Brief management within 24 hours
• Involve HR if employee data got out
• Loop in legal for compliance

Depending on your industry, you might need to alert regulators. Healthcare outfits report to HHS under HIPAA. Banks and financial firms have their own rules.

We also advise reporting phishing to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to the FBI’s IC3 for bigger cybercrime cases.

If customer or client data might have leaked, consider letting them know. Most state laws require breach notifications within 60-90 days.

Educate and Support Employees

Teaching your team prevents future phishing disasters and helps build trust. We focus on creating a culture where people aren’t afraid to speak up about suspicious emails.

Key topics to cover:

• Spotting generic greetings in phishing emails
• Checking URLs before clicking
• Recognizing text-message phishing
• Understanding social engineering tricks

We suggest one-on-one training with anyone who clicked. Figure out what made the email convincing and fill in any knowledge gaps.

Set up a “Clickers Group” for repeat offenders. This targeted training addresses the patterns we’ve seen as weak spots.

Make it easy for employees to report suspicious emails—set up a dedicated address like phishing@yourcompany.com. That way, people know exactly where to send anything odd.

Strengthen Spam Filtering and Security Tools

Upgrading technical controls really cuts down on phishing emails sneaking into employee inboxes. We take a close look at your current spam filters and suggest tweaks based on the latest attack methods.

Essential security tool improvements:

• Advanced spam filters that actually learn over time
• Email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Anti-malware software with real-time scanning
• URL filtering to block sketchy phishing domains

You can set up most modern spam filters to quarantine emails with red flags. We usually create rules that catch emails using generic greetings, urgent language, or weird attachment types.

It’s worth looking at zero-trust email security that sandboxes every attachment and link. Even if someone clicks something they shouldn’t, malicious content won’t run.

Make sure you’ve got endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools on every company device. These tools keep an eye out for suspicious activity and can automatically lock down compromised systems.

Run Phishing Awareness Simulations

Running regular phishing simulations helps spot employees who might be at risk and shows how security awareness changes over time. We usually run these tests every quarter—it keeps people alert without burning them out on fake emails.

Some simulation strategies that actually work:

• Try different attack types, like email phishing, smishing, or sketchy URLs
• Change up the difficulty so it doesn’t get too predictable
• Aim scenarios at specific departments, making them relevant to daily work
• Watch both click rates and how often people report suspicious stuff

We keep an eye on things like how many people click, how quickly folks report phishing, and whether there’s progress after each round. With steady training, most companies notice click rates drop by about 15-20%. Not bad, right?

It’s important to make these simulations look and feel like the real threats your company faces. A financial firm? Probably needs to focus on wire transfer scams. Healthcare? HIPAA-themed phishing is more likely.

When someone clicks a simulation link, give them feedback right away. That immediate nudge tends to stick with people way more than a boring, delayed training session.