SUCCESS STORY
Queen’s College Cambridge strengthens cyber awareness with Boxphish training
Overview
Queen’s College, Cambridge, partnered with Boxphish to strengthen cyber awareness across its academic and administrative community. With staff, researchers, and students relying heavily on digital systems for teaching, research, and college operations, the college faced rising cyber risks.
Boxphish delivered a programme designed to protect sensitive data, maintain smooth academic and administrative processes, and ensure the college community could confidently recognise and respond to threats.
"A huge fan of Boxphish here! The product feature set is very extensive, and it has wide range of topics. It is much easier to convince users to complete when relevant to the outside world too (online shopping / credit card fraud have the largest uptake here!)"
Jon Chiffins, Head of IT | Queen’s College Cambridge
Challenge
As an academic institution, Queen’s College operates in an environment where cyber attacks can disrupt learning, research, and administration, while compromising sensitive personal and academic data. Key challenges included:
Safeguarding student records, research data, and administrative information.
Delivering training to a distributed community of staff, faculty, and students.
Mitigating phishing and social engineering risks from frequent digital communications within the college and with external collaborators.
Ensuring security measures did not interfere with teaching, research, or day-to-day operations.
Scaling awareness initiatives to cover new students, staff, and evolving digital systems.
Solution
The programme was rolled out smoothly across the college. Faculty and staff complete interactive modules and participate in real-world phishing simulations that mirror trending threats. Automated onboarding ensures every new member of the college joins the training cycle immediately. Boxphish designed a cyber awareness programme for Queen’s College, including:
Short, practical modules on phishing, ransomware, and safe use of digital platforms.
Scenario-based simulations reflecting real academic situations, such as fraudulent emails from collaborators, student submissions, or administrative notices.
Quizzes and interactive exercises reinforcing good cyber security habits in daily college life.
Automated onboarding for new students and staff, ensuring timely participation in the programme.
Impact
The Boxphish programme delivered measurable results for Queen’s College Cambridge:
01.
Cyber simulations showed increased awareness and vigilance across faculty and staff.
02.
Reduced risk to sensitive academic, research, and administrative data.
03.
Fostered a culture of cyber awareness, with the college community confident in recognising and reporting threats.
04.
Reinforced trust in the college’s digital systems by demonstrating proactive protection of sensitive information.
Standout features
Short, interactive courses suited for busy academic schedules.
Measurable improvements in threat recognition and response.
Automated onboarding to maintain consistent coverage.
Minimal administrative burden on IT and college management.
Realistic simulations reflecting academic and administrative workflows.
Future outlook
Queen’s College will continue leveraging the programme to sustain high levels of cyber awareness. By embedding a proactive security culture, the college protects sensitive data, ensures uninterrupted academic and research activities, and reinforces its reputation as a secure and trusted institution.
Would Queen's College Cambridge recommend Boxphish?
“Yes, keep up the great work."
Jon Chiffins, Head of IT | Queen’s College Cambridge.
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