Internet hosting company GoDaddy is facing backlash for a recent phishing test promising employees a fake holiday bonus. According to a report by local NBC News affiliate 12 News, GoDaddy sent an email to employees saying they needed to act to claim a $650 holiday bonus. Those that clicked on the fake email were reprimanded for failing an email security "phishing" test.
Phishing tests are a common practice among big companies these days, pre-emptively testing the security of their online assets. They generally involve convincing fake emails meant to simulate real phising attempts by hackers, allowing companies to gauge how seriously employees are examining their inboxes. However, in this case employees were not pleased to learn that they had failed a test rather than earning a bonus in a year of extreme economic recession. The email soon went public, and some users even began calling for a boycott of GoDaddy services.
"Happy Holiday GoDaddy! 2020 has been a record year for GoDaddy, thanks to you!" read the original email. "Though we cannot celebrate together during our annual Holiday Party, we want to show our appreciation and share a $650 one-time Holiday bonus! To ensure that you receive your one-time bonus in time for the Holidays, please select your location and fill in the details by Friday, December 18th."
The email included a GoDaddy logo and other identifying marks, like those a hacker could reasonably be expected to cobble together for a real phishing attempt. Still, critics on social media thought it was heartless for the company to crack down on cyber security by toying with employees' emotions during a time of unprecedented strife.
The story took over social media this week, with some business owners declaring that they would no longer use GoDaddy's web-hosting services. Others thought that the company should be made to pay out the bonuses mentioned in the email, even if they weren't originally real. Here is a look at how the outcry reached Twitter.