Creating and Testing a Custom Template – Cyber Guru English (US)

Create a Template

To create a template, log in to the platform and select "Training Material Template" from the menu on the left.

Creating a template is a feature available to users with the company admin role or higher (MSP).

A user with the MSP role has access to both global templates and those specific to companies.
On the other hand, a user with the Company Admin role can only access and view templates associated with their own company.

At this point, you can click the "New Template" button and enter all the required information.

Description of Fields to Fill In

Field	Description
Template Name	The name under which the template will be saved on the platform
Company	The company where the template will be used, or "global" if the template will be used by all companies
Landing Page	The HTML page shown to the target when they click the link in the email. The landing page can be the default one or customized specifically for the end customer. You can also enter the URL of the landing page (if not specified, the system will redirect the user to the default one)
Type	The type of template: Email, SMS, QR Code, or USB
Language	The language in which the text of the email to be sent to the target is written
Estimated Difficulty	A number between 0 and 1 indicating how difficult it is to recognize the phishing email. The range goes from 0 (easiest) to 1 (most difficult)
Tag	To better categorize the template (example: Real Brand)
Countries	The countries of the targets where the template can be used. This field allows multiple values, enabling the template to be used in several countries. The default value is "All countries"
Forced	Select if you want to force the use of the template in a phishing campaign
Attachment	Select if you want to include one or more attachments (see dedicated article)

Template Content - Preview

Once the template has been successfully created, you'll land on the "Preview" section where you can enter the content of the template.

The content should be entered in all the languages you selected as available for the template.

In the "Subject" line, you can enter the subject of the email that will be seen by the target user of the template.

In the "Sender" line, you need to enter the sender name and sender address you want the email to come from, using the following format --> Sender Name < xx@senderdomain>

NOTE: The sender domain used must be chosen from those authorized for sending by Cyber Guru (available on the platform in the "Help > Support - Knowledge > Click here to download additional whitelisting information" section)

By clicking on "Content", you can enter the template content, which will be the body of the email the user receives. You can use any HTML editor to generate the template content, which you can then copy and upload to the platform.

The Preview feature lets you see a preview of the HTML you entered. However, we recommend not relying solely on the preview: it's always best to send a test of the template to yourself to check how the email displays in your email client before launching the campaign."

Insert Placeholders

To make sure the template works correctly, it's important to insert placeholders. These placeholders will be replaced at the time of execution.

You can select all placeholders from the relevant dropdown menu. Once you've selected the item you want, click "copy" to get the placeholder to insert into the template.

Below is the complete list of placeholders you can use in the template text

SURNAME {{.LastName}} Target's last name
NAME ⁠{{.FirstName}} Target's first name
EMAIL ⁠{{.Email}} Target's email address
TRACKER {{.Tracker}} The tracker is an invisible image used to track when the recipient opens the email.The tracker must be inserted before the closing </body> and </html> tags.
```
 </body>
 {{.Tracker}}
</html>
```
If the image is not automatically downloaded, the open event will NOT be recorded (the click or report event is NOT affected).
TRACKING URL {{.TrackingURL}} The tracking manager's URL
SENDER ⁠{{.From}} The spoofed sender
TELEPHONE NUMBER {{.Position}} Target's phone number
INTERNAL RID {{.RId}} Target's unique ID
⁠BASE URL {{.BaseURL}} The base URL with the path and rid parameter stripped. Useful for linking to static files.
PHISHING URL {{.URL}} Phishing URL. To redirect the user to a landing page, you need to insert an <a> tag with the href attribute set to the {{.URL}} placeholder.
```
Example:  <a href="{{.URL}}" style="text-decoration:none; color:#0a6ebd; font-weight:bold">
      More information about the courses
     </a>
```
If no landing page has been set up, the default one will be used. The {{.URL}} placeholder will automatically be replaced by the platform with the landing page domain configured for the template (or, if not specified, with a default one).

Landing page domains are available within the platform in the "Help > Support - Knowledge > Click here to download additional whitelisting information" section.
⁠COMPANY LOGO {{.CompanyLogoAsDataURL}} Company logo
DATE {{.CurrentDate+0}} The current date
IMAGE {{.Img= The image included in the HTML template. For instructions on adding images, see the dedicated section in this article.

Below is an example of HTML

Upload an Image to the Template

If you want to insert an image into the template, click on "Content". At this point, you have two options:

Choose image: lets you select a global image, shared among all templates.
Choose company image (recommended): lets you select or upload an image specific to your organization, usable only by your organization and not shared with others.

After uploading or selecting the image, on the same screen you'll find the Copy button to copy the {{.Img}} placeholder, which you can paste directly into the src attribute of the <img> tag in your HTML template.

The image placeholder will look like {{.Img=imagename.png/jpg}}

Every time you make a change, remember to click the Save button at the bottom right to avoid losing your changes.

Global Information

The "Global Information" section of the template contains various elements that allow you to configure and customize the general details of the template. Let's look at each item in detail:

Template name: used to identify the template within the system.
Landing page: this menu lets you specify the page users will land on after clicking the simulation link in the SPECIFIC TEMPLATE. For example, the Microsoft double landing page simulates a Microsoft login page where users are prompted to enter their credentials. In this case, the submitted data is recorded, allowing you to track not only the click on the link but also the actual entry of information. If nothing is specified, the system will use the default landing page.
Landing Page URL: The URL is the web address of the landing page, which will be used in communications generated with the template. Only use authorized Cyber Guru landing page domains (these can be viewed on the platform in the "Help > Support - Knowledge > Click here to download additional whitelisting information" section).
Associated tags: Tags are keywords that help classify and filter templates.
Estimated difficulty level: Indicates how complex it is to use the template (not required to fill in).
Type: this field lets you define the template type. Note: once selected, the type cannot be changed. So it's important to choose carefully before proceeding.
Attachments: You can choose whether to include attachments with the template (to add attachments, contact your designated CSM).
Template activation: If a template is not active, it will not be selected for campaigns.
Template forcing: Allows you to force the inclusion of the template in the next campaign proposed by the system. If some of the templates automatically suggested by the system for a campaign are not suitable, you can manually intervene in two ways:

Force your own templates using the "Forced" toggle, so they are included in the campaign.
Recreate the campaign by deactivating the templates you want to replace, so they are excluded from the automatic selection (in the "Campaign Management" section).

Every time you make a change, remember to click the Save button at the bottom right to avoid losing your changes.

Template Languages

The "languages" section of a template offers the following features:

View available languages: You can see a list of the languages in which the template is currently available. This lets you keep track of which languages have a version of the template.
Delete a language: If a certain language is no longer needed, you can remove it from the list. The template will no longer be available in the deleted language.
Add new languages: You can add more languages in which the template will be available. After adding a language, you will need to translate the template content, subject, sender, and HINTS.
Edit country availability: You can define or change the countries where the template will be available. Keep in mind that not all templates are suitable for global availability in every country. Some templates refer to very specific content that may not be relevant or recognizable in certain local contexts, making the simulation less effective. In these cases, it's best to limit visibility to only the countries where the template applies.

On the other hand, there are templates with universal content, suitable for any company or geographic area. These templates can be made available globally without any restrictions.

Adding Hints to a Template

It's essential to include specific hints for each phishing template so they provide key tips that help users recognize signs of a potential attack. Hints should be customized for each phishing scenario to reflect the unique characteristics of the message the user received.

If no custom landing page is selected, three default hints are automatically used, which are generally valid for any type of phishing attack.

To add a hint, go to the desired template and click on the "Hints" section. Click "New hint" and enter

Class: identifies the type of hint, specifying the topic it refers to.
Icon: image to associate with the hint
Priority: a sequential number that determines the order in which hints are shown on the landing page. You can add up to 5 hints, using priority values in tens: 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50.
Tags let you create hints with dynamic content, personalized based on the simulation data. For example, you can use tags like the email sender or other campaign-specific elements, making the warning more contextual and effective for the user.
Hint content: the content of the hint as shown on the landing page. Example: "Suspicious sender: Always check the sender's email address. An unusual or slightly different domain from the official one is a clear sign of phishing."

Actions

In the Actions section of a template, the following export options are available:

Export to XML: lets you export the entire template content in XML format.
Export to HTML: available if the template is in multiple languages, lets you export the content in HTML format by specifying the desired language for export.
Test the template

Testing a Template

The purpose of the template testing features is to allow the platform to check that there are no errors in the template that would prevent it from being used in campaigns.

To test a template, you can select "Training Material Template" and choose the template you want to test.

Once you've chosen the template, in the "Actions" section you have two options:

The "Single Language Test Template", for example "Test Template (IT)", checks only the selected language and sends the template to the entered address.
The "Test Template" checks ALL languages and sends the template in the selected language to the entered address. Therefore, it's always recommended to use the generic "Test Template" and not the single language one.

You can enter any email address (it doesn't have to be a user registered on the platform) to run a test.

NOTE: If you run a template test and errors are found in the languages, a red banner will appear indicating the presence of errors in the template. The banner will specify which languages have issues, making it easier to quickly and accurately fix them.

The template list will now include a new column with a single icon showing the test status:

✅ Green check mark for templates that have been successfully tested (all languages tested) and have not been modified since the test.
⚠️ Yellow warning for templates that have been modified or imported and have not been tested since the change.
❌ Red alert for templates whose test, for all languages, was not successful.

Once all tests are successful, you can proceed to activate the template. From that moment, the template will be available in the system.

Note: The "Campaign Test" feature in the "Release Management" section, when you select a campaign, is intended to send all templates included in a campaign in the selected language only. Therefore, the campaign test is not an effective way to check template correctness since a campaign might pass the test in one language but then fail activation if the templates have errors in other languages.

Template Creation Date

Within the "Training Material" section, under the "Template" category, you can access simulation templates. To make it easier to find new items, a column called "Creation Date" has been added to the phishing template table. This column lets you quickly identify the most recent templates and keep your simulations up to date.