5 tips for getting off to a strong start with security awareness
Maybe you want to strengthen your organisation’s cyber security. Maybe a colleague accidentally clicked a phishing email and you want to prevent it from happening again. Or perhaps security awareness has been sitting on your to-do list for ages and today is finally the day you’re ready to tackle it.
Whatever your reason, taking your first steps into the world of security awareness can feel overwhelming. We’re here to help. With these five tips, you’ll be well on your way to a strong, confident start.
Security awareness is a vital part of any information security strategy. It focuses on reducing human risk. Think of a colleague who unknowingly clicks a malicious link or leaves sensitive documents behind on the train.
Most of these mistakes are unintentional. People often don’t realise the risk, let alone the potential impact. Security awareness helps change that.
Raising awareness helps employees become more resilient to digital threats and risks. But people alone aren’t enough. Information security depends on three factors:
Only when these elements work together can you truly safeguard your organisation. These five tips will help you get the human factor under control and give your security awareness programme a flying start.
Before launching any programme, it’s essential to understand why you’re doing it. Why is security awareness important for us? And why do we need to act now?
By answering these questions, you can define the project clearly and convincingly. It also helps shape the programme and increases the chance of long-term success.
No organisation wants to run the risk of a cyber incident, and rightly so. Both the direct and indirect costs can be significant: downtime, financial loss, reputational damage.
Because most cyber incidents stem from human behaviour, security awareness is essential for any organisation aiming to build a sustainable security culture. “Culture” really is the key word here.
Too often we see organisations doing something with security awareness because compliance demands it. It might tick the box, keep management happy, or satisfy regulations, but it won’t lead to real behavioural change. And when an incident does occur, that box-ticking approach offers little protection.
Security awareness isn’t a one-time initiative. People need repetition to internalise knowledge and real-life practice to recognise threats in their day-to-day work. Continuous learning is what makes the difference.
There are countless security awareness programmes available. When selecting a partner, make sure the training style fits your organisation. Ask yourself:
These questions help you narrow down the right match. And aside from user experience for employees, ease of use for managers is important too. An intuitive platform that saves time and requires little maintenance can make all the difference.
Getting management on board is often one of the biggest challenges in launching a security awareness programme. Leadership buy-in is essential.
Of course, it’s important that they approve the project, but it’s even more crucial that they genuinely support the message and actively promote security awareness themselves.
Just like engaging leadership, it’s crucial to bring the right departments into the process early on. Your communications team, for example, knows better than anyone how to reach and motivate employees.
Take the time to ensure team leads and managers understand their role as well. Help them see their responsibility in the programme. Once they feel ownership, they can act as role models, something employees value far more than rules that management doesn’t follow themselves.
A solid kick-off typically includes three elements:
But there are plenty of creative alternatives, such as starting with a phishing simulation or a security awareness baseline audit.
At Awaretrain, we help organisations build awareness and drive behavioural change in information security, cyber security and privacy. Our programmes ensure continuous learning, give insight into your current security posture, and train employees to recognise risks. In short: we help turn your colleagues into your strongest line of defence, creating a safer, more resilient workplace. All of our programmes are based on proven models from behavioural psychology. Discover the Awaretrain platform for yourself. Try it free for 28 days, no strings attached.
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