Why Cybersecurity Awareness Training Needs To Be a Company-Wide Priority

While CISOs and security awareness program owners recognize how critical cybersecurity awareness training is, it’s not always a priority for other leaders and employees, who often see security as an IT issue. 

Here are four reasons security matters to everyone in your organization and how you can gain their support:  

Human Error Is One of the Fastest-Growing Causes of Breaches. 

Your employees need to know the role they play in your organization’s security—and the ability they have to improve it. Verizon’s 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report found that “85% of breaches involved a human element.” While that statistic may seem alarming, it also means that with the proper training and support, your employees can be your first line of defense against cybersecurity attacks. 

Even the Strongest Technical Barriers Can’t Fully Protect Us. 

IT and security teams play a crucial role, but they can’t do it alone. While firewalls, authentication measures, access control, and other technical security measures are important, social engineering can undermine them all. 

According to the Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report, social engineering was the most common pattern found in cybersecurity breaches. It’s critical that every employee understands the risks they face, including phishing, physical breaches, reverse engineering, and more. 

Once-Yearly Training Isn’t Effective.   

Consistent training must be a priority at your organization. Cybersecurity threats are always evolving and your team needs to be aware of the changes as they occur. 

In addition, offering a one-time training without reinforcement or real-life application won’t lead to a change in your organization’s cybersecurity culture. Instead, you can: 

• Work together to build safe cybersecurity habits. 
• Frame security as part of the company culture.
• Appeal to social norms.
• Employ microlearning. 
• Learn about cybersecurity all year long. 

Once you’ve convinced the C-suite that year-round security awareness training is a must, you’re faced with another challenge: how do you keep employees interested and engaged with the material? 

There are a number of ways you can boost completion and retention, including gamified experiences, story-driven training content, and other material that’s relevant to everyone on your team. 

Everyone Is Already Involved.  

Whether they know it or not, every employee is involved in your organization’s cybersecurity. 

Some team members may not be interested in the security training they’ve attended in the past because they don’t understand how it applies to them or their role. One way you can earn company-wide buy-in is by understanding your teams’ individual needs and showing them how cybersecurity relates to them. 

For example, the executive management team needs an educational approach that helps them see your organization's current risk landscape for what it really is, while the rest of your employees need awareness of what the current issues they may face look like and how to avoid them. 

As we previously explained in this post on human risk management: 

• Executives need to be educated about where the company is vulnerable and how your program mitigates risk. They want to ensure they know why their investment in cybersecurity is truly crucial for the organization. 
• Employees need consistent access to security education and awareness.
• External stakeholders need to feel you have everything under control.

All of your employees, no matter what their role is, are interested in keeping themselves and their loved ones safe in the digital world. Our Family First series lets you share content, webinars, and more to help your employees understand how to keep each member of their family safe online. 

Now that you know how to explain each employee’s crucial role in cybersecurity, it’s time to educate them through consistent, effective training that will keep them and your organization safe. 

Cybersecurity Training Your Employees Will Love 

Seriously—we have the data to prove it: 

• 94% of employees preferred Living Security over their prior cybersecurity training.
• 96% would recommend Living Security training to a friend or colleague.
• 100% feel more confident in recognizing and reacting to cybersecurity threats after Living Security training.

Living Security Teams: CyberEscape Online meets your employees where they are—and right now, it’s likely they’re working remotely. This program is the first completely remote, team-based cybersecurity training platform that empowers users to learn cybersecurity information and apply it in their lives, transforming human risk into human strength.