Security Awareness Training

In broad terms, you could think of security awareness training as making sure that individuals understand and follow certain practices to help ensure the security of an organisation. From this perspective, security awareness training has been around practically forever, especially considering the need for security in military applications. But for everyday businesses and their employees, security awareness training fortifies the company culture as the first line of defence against elaborate cyber-attacks and socially engineered threats.

Today, security awareness training emphasises information security, and especially cybersecurity. Rapid advances in information technology—and parallel innovations by cybercriminals—mean that employees and other end users need regular, specific training on how to safely navigate online to protect their information and that of their employers.

While certain programmes take unique approaches, security awareness training is a comprehensive educational process designed to equip employees, business leaders, vendors, and other stakeholders with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify, understand, and mitigate cyber threats. This training fosters a culture of security mindfulness in an organisation, ensuring that all individuals are aware of the potential risks associated with digital connectivity and technology use and are prepared to act responsibly to protect the organisation’s networks, devices, data, and other assets from cyber-based threats.

The training encompasses a broad range of topics essential for maintaining cybersecurity hygiene, including but not limited to recognising phishing attempts, understanding the importance of strong password practices, identifying malware, and adhering to company security policies and procedures. Security awareness training may also cover the legal and regulatory aspects of data protection, such as compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), where applicable.

To remain effective, security awareness training is an ongoing learning process that continuously adapts to the evolving threat landscape. It includes various educational methods, such as interactive online learning, gamification, phishing simulations, and real-world examples to engage team members with different learning styles and technical aptitudes.

This article is an introduction and deep dive into security awareness training and its importance: why organisations use it, how it has evolved over the years, and how it helps to reduce the threat of cyberattacks and other security breaches. Finally, we’ll introduce some tools for creating an effective security awareness programme.

Cybersecurity awareness training is critical in minimising the serious cybersecurity threats posed to end users by phishing attacks and social engineering. Key training topics typically include password protection and management, privacy, email/phishing security, web/internet security, and physical and office security.

Organisations recognise that their most significant asset in safeguarding against these threats is also their most vulnerable point: their people. It’s not just about having the most advanced technology or the strictest protocols; it’s about ensuring that every individual within the organisation is equipped with the knowledge and awareness to act as a proactive defender against cyber risks. Herein lies the pivotal role of security awareness training—a cornerstone strategy that transforms potential human vulnerabilities into robust pillars of defence.

• Empowering employees: Understanding that even state-of-the-art technical defences can be circumvented by exploiting human factors, security awareness training aims to fortify this “human firewall.” Through comprehensive education on social engineering tactics, phishing scams, and other methods attackers use to target individuals, such initiatives bolster an employee’s ability to detect and thwart malicious attempts.
• Mitigating risks: The primary goal of instilling security consciousness among staff members is risk reduction. Security-conscious employees are less likely to fall prey to deceptive attacks leading directly or indirectly towards data breaches or compromising sensitive information—thereby maintaining organisational integrity and trust.
• Ensuring regulatory compliance: Beyond protective measures, there’s also a legal impetus behind these programmes. Various regulations like GDPR for privacy protection in Europe, HIPAA for health information in the United States, or ISO 27001 international standards require demonstrable efforts towards employee security training—with non-compliance attracting severe financial penalties.
• Cultivating a security-first culture: Engaging educational content does more than inform—it inspires. Empowering employees through engaging sessions designed around active participation rather than passive reception encourages ownership over one’s role in corporate safety, fostering an environment wherein vigilance becomes a second-nature collective ethos across the enterprise.
• Financial and reputational preservation: Preemptive education is cost-effective insurance against potential future crises. Averting incidents before they occur eliminates the need for costly recovery operations while preserving a company’s hard-won reputation and market stakeholder confidence.
• Enhancing visibility and fostering improvement: Security training platforms offer valuable reporting and analytics features, which provide deep insights into user behaviour and risk areas. This data-driven approach allows for identifying high-risk individuals or departments, facilitating targeted interventions that bolster overall security posture.

In the SANS Institute’s 2024 Security Awareness Report, researchers surveyed over 1,000 security awareness practitioners from more than 70 countries to understand how organisations are managing human risk. The comprehensive study reveals clear priorities and measurable benefits that drive organisational investment in security awareness training.

The research identified the top human risks that organisations address through security awareness programmes:

• 89% focus on social engineering attacks (including phishing, smishing, and vishing)
• 45% target password and strong authentication issues
• 43% emphasise detecting and reporting security incidents
• 31% address artificial intelligence-related risks
• 19% focus on social networks and social media threats

These findings demonstrate that organisations primarily invest in security awareness training to combat the most pressing human-centred threats. Social engineering has emerged as the dominant concern, with AI making these attacks increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect.

The report also reveals the strategic value of mature security awareness programmes. Organisations with the most advanced programmes dedicate at least 4.2 full-time employees to achieve strategic metrics and embed a strong security culture. This investment reflects a fundamental shift from viewing security awareness as a compliance requirement to recognising it as a critical business function that directly impacts organisational risk management.

Security awareness training has become a critical business imperative in today’s threat landscape. The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report reveals that users click malicious links in just 21 seconds, with sensitive data entered within the following 28 seconds. This means a successful phishing attack can compromise an entire organisation in under one minute.

The human element remains the weakest link in cybersecurity defences. Mimecast research shows that 95% of cybersecurity breaches stem from human error. Meanwhile, Sacred Heart University found that social engineering accounts for 98% of all cyber-attacks. These statistics underscore a fundamental reality: even the most sophisticated security technologies can be bypassed entirely if employees aren’t adequately trained to recognise threats.

The financial stakes are enormous. Vishing attacks alone cost organisations an average of $14 million per year. Data breaches can result in millions of dollars in damages, regulatory fines, and reputational loss. Security awareness training represents a relatively small investment that can prevent catastrophic losses.

Beyond risk mitigation, training transforms employees from security liabilities into proactive defenders. Well-trained staff become the first line of defence against cyber-attacks. They can identify suspicious emails, report potential threats, and make security-conscious decisions that strengthen the entire organisation’s security posture.

Regulatory compliance adds another layer of importance. Standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 require demonstrable security training efforts. Organizations that fail to meet these requirements face severe financial penalties and legal consequences.

While the core concepts of cybersecurity awareness training aren’t new, they have reached mainstream consciousness relatively recently. One indication of its emergence was the 2004 launch of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The initiative, by the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the US Department of Homeland Security, was intended to help people stay safer and more secure online, encouraging such practices as regularly updating antivirus software.

Since then, the annual awareness month has inspired similar events in other countries, expanded its themes and content, and drawn increased participation across industries and government, as well as universities, nonprofits, and the general public.

The focus, methods, and effectiveness of security awareness training have undergone significant changes over the years. Back in 2004, most programmes were driven by the need for compliance—simply meeting regulatory requirements. Today, that focus has shifted to seeing cybersecurity awareness training as a means to manage and mitigate organisational risk.

Along the way, training methods themselves have matured. In 2004, the dominant paradigm was for annual presentations, either as in-person training sessions or long-form computer-based training. Unfortunately, these lengthy, infrequent sessions do not result in good knowledge retention. A gradual shift toward short, focused training on individual topics represented an improvement, but these trainings were still presented infrequently, which allowed knowledge to dissipate over time.

Around 2014, security awareness training began shifting toward continuous education and improvement, in which a programme includes ongoing cycles of assessments and training. The latest developments have been “just-in-time” and in-context training, which adds the ability to launch training in response to an end-user exhibiting poor cybersecurity behaviour, such as unsafe web browsing.

The period from 2020 onward has marked a new chapter in the evolution of security awareness training driven by artificial intelligence and data analytics. Organisations now leverage AI and machine learning to personalise training content based on individual user behaviour and risk profiles. This shift has enabled real-time behavioural analytics that identify risky actions and trigger immediate, contextual training interventions.

Modern programmes have also expanded beyond traditional phishing awareness to address emerging threats like deepfakes, AI-driven social engineering attacks, and sophisticated manipulation techniques. The integration of gamification and microlearning has transformed training from tedious, compliance-oriented exercises into engaging, bite-sized experiences that enhance knowledge retention. Cloud-based platforms now provide scalable and flexible delivery methods that accommodate remote and hybrid work environments.

Perhaps most significantly, there’s a growing recognition that successful security awareness training requires genuine organisational culture change and active leadership involvement. Rather than viewing training as an IT department responsibility, forward-thinking organisations now treat security awareness as a company-wide initiative that requires executive sponsorship and cultural transformation to achieve lasting behavioural change.

Today’s security awareness programmes rely heavily on phishing simulations to measure and improve user behaviour, as revealed in Proofpoint’s 2024 State of the Phish™ Report. The report analysed 183 million phishing simulations conducted over a 12-month period, which provided unprecedented insights into training effectiveness and user response patterns.

Current simulation approaches show distinct patterns in both usage and effectiveness:

• 59% of simulations use link-based tests
• 30% employ data-entry tests
• 10% utilise attachment-based tests
• Attachment-based tests generate the highest failure rate at 17%

The data reveals encouraging trends in organisational resilience. Overall failure rates for simulated phishing dropped to 9.3% from 10% in 2022, while reporting rates increased to 18%. This improvement has pushed the average Resilience Factor to 2.0, meaning organisations now have twice as many users reporting phishing emails as those who fall for them.

However, the human element remains a complex issue. While 71% of organisations experienced at least one successful phishing attack in 2023 (down from 84% the previous year), the consequences have intensified. The most striking finding challenges traditional training assumptions: 68% of employees knowingly take risky actions that could compromise organisational security, with 96% aware these actions carry inherent risks. This suggests that effective security programmes must surpass awareness to focus on behavioural change and cultural transformation.

At Proofpoint, we’ve created highly effective training solutions utilising our Continuous Training Methodology based on Learning Science Principles that engage the learner and change behaviour.

Carnegie Mellon University’s research determined how we employ Learning Science Principles was proven effective.

Fostering a culture that embraces proactive defences against phishing attacks is essential in reinforcing an organisation’s security posture. Building an anti-phishing behaviour management programme not only secures organisational assets but also cultivates an environment where employees feel empowered and engaged. Here are five principles to guide the development of such a programme, ensuring it resonates with leadership and becomes embraced by staff.

1. Champion education over punishment: Shift the narrative from penalising mistakes to celebrating learning opportunities. By framing security awareness training as a tool for personal and professional growth, organisations can dismantle barriers to engagement. Highlight stories of how knowledge gained through these programmes has helped individuals both within and outside work contexts—transforming potential apprehension into enthusiasm for participating.
2. Encourage leadership advocacy: Secure buy-in from top executives by demonstrating how positive reinforcement strategies align with broader business goals like reducing risk and enhancing corporate reputation. When leaders actively promote and participate in anti-phishing initiatives, their endorsement serves as a powerful motivator for wider acceptance across all levels of the organisation.
3. Personalise the learning experience: Recognise that one size does not fit all in education. Tailor training content to meet diverse learning styles and job roles within your company as relevance breeds interest, which fosters better retention rates. Incorporating interactive elements such as gamification or real-life simulations can transform routine exercises into engaging challenges that stimulate genuine interest while reinforcing key concepts about cyber vigilance.
4. Promote open dialogue: Establish a culture where feedback on the training programme is not just encouraged but valued. Allowing participants to express their thoughts and concerns enables a cycle of continuous improvement that ensures materials remain engaging and relevant. Furthermore, creating forums for employees to share experiences with phishing attempts fosters a sense of community and collective responsibility toward safeguarding against digital threats.
5. Focus on long-term behavioural change: Instead of seeking quick fixes, aim to develop enduring security habits that require ongoing effort and reinforcement. Acknowledge and celebrate small victories as part of the journey towards a more secure mindset. This approach ensures that security awareness evolves from being seen as an external imposition to becoming an integral part of employees’ daily routines, leading to a profound cultural shift within the organisation.

By embracing these five principles, organisations can craft an anti-phishing behaviour management programme that not only addresses immediate cybersecurity threats but also fosters a lasting environment of vigilance and empowerment.

Recent studies and case analyses demonstrate measurable improvements from comprehensive security awareness programmes:

40%

Proofpoint’s study on the effects of their Security Awareness platform showed that many companies experienced a decrease of up to 40% in the number of harmful links clicked by users.

80%

Research indicates that security risks can be reduced by as much as 80% through effective security awareness training programmes.

50%

Analysis of training effectiveness shows that half of employees report a real threat within six months of beginning training, with two-thirds reporting real threats within one year.

96%

Organisations that combined monthly or more frequent security awareness training with weekly phishing simulated tests achieved a 96% improvement in their phish-prone percentage rates compared to less frequently trained groups.

Training employees to increase an organisation’s security posture versus engaging cybersecurity experts requires a unique strategy. Users don’t have the expertise, so they need information presented to them in an engaging way that helps them visualise and understand phishing.

Your security awareness programme should include several features:

• Threat-driven content: To optimise its effectiveness, security awareness training must be tailored to the current threat landscape, ensuring that users are prepared for real-world threats.
• Real-time reporting: The training platform should provide real-time reporting on simulated phishing tests and real-world threats, allowing organisations to monitor their security posture and identify areas for improvement.
• Customisable content: Advanced programmes offer a wide variety of training modules in multiple languages, enabling organisations to tailor the content to their specific needs and user demographics.
• Adaptive learning framework: Security training programmes should utilise an adaptive learning framework that delivers security education on a progressive scale, from the basics to advanced concepts. It can further be tailored to individual factors like role, learning style, competency, vulnerability level, and language.
• Microlearning: Training delivered in digestible modules with concise and specific learning objectives, making it easy for users to digest and retain the information.
• Continuous improvement: A comprehensive approach to security awareness includes periodic reassessments to track progress and identify areas of concern, allowing organisations to refine their cybersecurity awareness and education plan.
• Guided Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) Training: This advanced feature allows organisations to run targeted training programmes based on actual risks in their environment, focusing on specific threat types like email impersonation, credential phishing, and ransomware.

While some organisations assemble their own strategic approach, these fundamental features are inherent in Proofpoint’s Security Awareness Training programmes. Ultimately, how you organise and develop security training will determine its effectiveness. You need a strategy for how the content is written and organised.

An example approach is a Contextual Learning Model, which emphasises relevance, engagement, and practical application. This model moves away from strict divisions between formal, informal, and experiential learning to focus more holistically on how content can be integrated into an employee’s daily workflow and decision-making processes. Here’s how it breaks down:

• Integrated Learning (40%): This component is incorporated into employees’ day-to-day activities. By embedding microlearning sessions directly into their workflow—such as brief quizzes after accessing certain company systems or short video tips before using specific software tools—training becomes less intrusive and more relevant.
• Scenario-Based Engagement (30%): Instead of traditional lectures or presentations, this training relies heavily on immersive simulations and interactive scenarios that reflect real-life situations employees might face. These scenarios are designed for individual participation and to encourage team-based problem-solving exercises that foster collaboration while enhancing understanding.
• Interactive Platforms (20%): Leveraging modern educational technology platforms can transform passive learning into active exploration. Features like gamified elements for achieving cybersecurity milestones or forums for discussing recent phishing attempts among peers create a vibrant community around cybersecurity education.
• Reflective Practice & Feedback Loops (10%): Encouraging employees to reflect upon what they’ve learned through regular feedback mechanisms—such as surveys or discussion groups—and applying these insights in practice helps cement knowledge while identifying areas needing further clarification or reinforcement.

Proofpoint offers a full suite of products for your security awareness and training programme, from knowledge assessments and phishing simulations to interactive training, powerful reports, and easy-to-use dashboards.

Implementing a multi-layered approach is crucial for an effective defence against cyber threats. This holistic strategy encompasses four essential layers that work together to enhance organisational security:

1. Human Layer

Often considered the first and most critical line of defence, this layer focuses on human-centric security that transforms employees into a human firewall through education about cybersecurity best practices, phishing scams, password policies, and other potential cyber risks. The human layer emphasises creating a culture of security where every team member is empowered with the knowledge to act as a vigilant protector of their organisation’s digital assets.

2. Policy Layer

This layer involves developing comprehensive security policies defining acceptable resource use, data protection guidelines, incident response plans, and more. These policies provide a framework for behaviour within the organisation and ensure clear procedures are in place for maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements and responding effectively to any breaches or incidents.

3. Technology Layer

The technology layer zeroes in on securing devices and tools integral to an organisation’s daily operations. It encompasses deploying robust antivirus software across all endpoints, ensuring that every device—a laptop, desktop, smartphone, or tablet—is fortified against malware and cyber threats. Additionally, this layer includes using secure communication tools for encrypting emails and protecting sensitive information shared online.

4. Infrastructure Layer

At this foundational level lies the backbone of an organisation’s digital environment—the networks, servers, VPNs, firewalls, and proxies that facilitate operational functionality while also posing as potential vectors for attack if left unprotected. Strengthening this layer involves meticulous configuration of network defences such as next-generation firewalls capable of deep packet inspection, deployment of VPN services for secure remote access, and rigorous monitoring and management of server security to prevent unauthorised access or data breaches.

Because security awareness training works with the human element in cybersecurity, organisations must find’ a company that can connect with users. Proofpoint’s training is developed to empower employees, vendors, and contractors with the information needed to detect and stop phishing attacks. We differentiate ourselves using a number of factors.

• Proven results. Security training has been shown to reduce click rates by up to 50%.
• Real-world examples. Train employees with real-world examples so that they recognise a phishing email more effectively.
• Better compliance. Proofpoint training improves compliance by educating users on proper auditing and record-keeping when working with customer data.
• Engaging for users. All lessons and training courses are created to engage users so that they get the most out of their sessions.

The effectiveness and scope of Proofpoint’s security solutions provide notable capabilities in both pre- and post-threat detection and remediation, along with advanced training that leads to measurable behavioural changes in organisational security practices.