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Case Study

Windham Brannon Modernizes Security Awareness for Evolving Threats

Industry
Certified Public Accounting and Consulting
Founded
1957
Headquarters
Atlanta, Georgia
Employees
256
About the Company

Accounting Expertise Across Borders

Windham Brannon is a certified public accounting and consulting firm providing advisory, assurance, tax, and international services to businesses, organizations, and high-net-worth individuals. Headquartered in Atlanta, the firm serves clients nationally and globally across sectors including construction, healthcare, manufacturing, professional services, real estate, restaurants, and technology.

With a growing workforce and clients relying on the firm to handle sensitive financial and business information, protecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability is a central responsibility for its IT and cybersecurity function.

The Challenge

Outgrowing a Leading Awareness Vendor

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect at Windham Brannon, is responsible for security policies, technical configurations, data loss prevention, and controls that protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of company and client information.

Windham Brannon already had an established security awareness program through one of the industry's leading vendors. However, as artificial intelligence changed workplace technology and attacker capabilities, the existing platform was no longer meeting the firm's needs.

The security team found that its content and capabilities were increasingly disconnected from current threats.

The program offered limited flexibility for customizing campaigns, responding to emerging risks, and using employee behavior to determine what training should happen next.

"(The previous vendor solution) was very obsolete. It was very outdated."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon

The issue was not simply access to training content. Windham Brannon needed a provider that could actively support the program, help the team respond to new threats, and work with Almir to develop practical workflows around the firm's priorities.

The firm wanted to understand where employees were struggling, reinforce lessons after phishing simulations, and build a scalable training process for new hires.

"We don't know what waits for us, but it gives us a good foundation to protect ourselves."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon
The firm's core challenges were:
01Replacing a leading platform that no longer met the firm's needs
02Keeping training aligned with emerging AI and phishing threats
03Customizing campaigns around the firm's specific risks
04Understanding where users needed additional support
05Reinforcing lessons after employees interacted with simulations
06Building a scalable training process for new employees
The Solution

More Current, Flexible, and Supported

Windham Brannon replaced its previous provider with Right-Hand to create a more relevant, customizable, and measurable security awareness program. The change gave Almir greater control over the program.

Instead of working within the limits of an increasingly outdated offering, they adapted campaigns to current threats, customized templates, reviewed user performance, and assigned training based on actual behavior.

"It gave us leverage to really customize what we want and to see the evolution of emerging threats."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon

Implementation connected Right-Hand with the firm's Microsoft Azure environment and email security processes. Despite the technical configuration involved, Almir described the onboarding experience as straightforward.

"The onboarding process was quite easy."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon
Once implemented, Right-Hand gave the security team several capabilities it had been missing:
Current training aligned with evolving attack methods
Custom phishing campaigns and templates
Performance data showing where employees needed help
Follow-up training after simulation failures
Automated reminders until assigned training was completed
Direct support for new workflows and program ideas

Rather than relying on a fixed content library, Windham Brannon could adapt campaigns to current attack techniques and use platform data to determine what training employees needed next.

The platform's dashboards also gave the team a clearer view of user performance, including where employees experienced difficulty and which behaviors required intervention.

"(Right-Hand's platform) gives us insight into user-based training and knowledge-based training, and how well they can detect these threats and emerging threats."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon
Operational Impact

Turning User Data into Better Training

Right-Hand helped Windham Brannon move from generalized awareness content toward a more data-driven program.

The security team can track user performance, identify areas of weakness, and develop training based on actual behavior rather than assumptions.

"Where are they most struggling, and where are they having the most success? We can develop those trainings based on the data being provided."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon

The platform also introduced stronger follow-up after phishing simulations.

When an employee interacts with a simulated phishing email, Windham Brannon can assign relevant training and continue sending reminders until the activity is completed. This creates a second learning opportunity after the original simulation.

Rather than simply recording that someone clicked, the program helps employees understand what they missed and reinforces the lesson before a real attack occurs.

"Delivering training right after a simulation fail is a great way to make sure they understand their mistakes and don't repeat those mistakes if a real phishing email comes through."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon

This approach is particularly useful across a workforce with different levels of security knowledge. Training and follow-up can be directed where they are needed instead of treating every employee as though they present the same level of risk.

Building for the Future

Extending Awareness to Onboarding

Windham Brannon is now working with Right-Hand to automate security awareness training for new employees.

The goal is to make training part of the onboarding process so employees receive the right guidance from the beginning, without requiring the security team to manage every assignment manually.

This initiative also demonstrates the difference between the firm's previous vendor relationship and its experience with Right-Hand.

Rather than leaving Almir to determine how to build the workflow alone, Right-Hand's Customer Success Manager is working directly with him to plan and implement the process.

This next step supports the firm's growth while creating a more consistent baseline of security knowledge across the workforce.

It also reflects a broader change in the program. Security awareness is becoming an ongoing operational process rather than a collection of isolated training events.

As AI, phishing, and social engineering tactics continue to change, Windham Brannon plans to use Right-Hand's training content, campaign capabilities, reporting, and regular program discussions to stay current.

"AI is an ever-evolving threat. It's getting bigger and bigger."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon
Why Right-Hand

Support the Previous Vendor Could Not Provide

For Windham Brannon, replacing one of the industry's leading security awareness vendors was not simply a platform change.

It was a shift from a provider that was no longer servicing the firm's evolving requirements to a partner that actively supported Almir's goals.

Right-Hand provided more relevant training, greater customization, clearer user data, and stronger follow-up capabilities.

Just as importantly, its Customer Success team remained directly involved in the program's development.

Almir has regular touchpoints with Right-Hand's Customer Success Manager to discuss emerging attack vectors, security news, training ideas, and opportunities to improve the firm's approach.

When he has a question or wants to explore a new initiative, support is readily available.

"Our Customer Success Manager is a call away. It makes it very easy and very smooth to think of new ideas and helps us get to the next stepping stone."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon

That support has helped Windham Brannon move beyond the limits of its previous platform and develop new capabilities, including automated onboarding training and more targeted interventions after phishing simulations.

The relationship gives Almir something the previous vendor was not delivering: a team that helps the program move forward rather than simply providing access to software.

His advice to other organizations evaluating Human Risk Management solutions is direct:

"Stay on top of the evolving threats and trends that are going on, and use that as a guiding tool to shape your company."

Almir Zahirovic, Senior Cybersecurity Architect, Windham Brannon
About
Right-Hand

Right-Hand is a Human Risk Management platform that helps organizations strengthen workforce resilience through phishing simulations and triage, AI-powered security awareness training, and intelligence drawn from employee behavior and real-world security signals. By combining relevant training, realistic simulations, contextual interventions, and dedicated customer support, Right-Hand helps security teams move beyond static awareness programs and reduce human risk over time.

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