Can you remember the last time you had or administered any cybersecurity awareness training? Was it when you were first hired? A year after that? Whatever the case may be, chances are good that it’s been a while.

Considering how quickly the world of cybersecurity (and cyberattacks) evolves, it’s important for employees to stay updated with current best practices – because if you want your employees to retain the tips that will help stop cyber attacks, regular refreshing is needed.

Why Do Employees Need Cybersecurity Training?

The Mimecast State of Email Security 2023 Report, which surveyed 1,700 information technology and cybersecurity professionals representing companies across the globe, highlights some key reasons security training should be a priority:

• 2/3 have been harmed by a ransomware attack
• 97% have been targeted by email-based phishing attacks
• 80% believe their company is at risk due to inadvertent data leaks by careless or negligent employees

New and emerging risks, such as AI-driven attacks and deepfakes, make awareness training even more important today.

What’s most alarming is that the survey also shows that 95% of all data breaches are due to human error. Close to half (48%) said that insufficient employee awareness of cyber threats would be their organization’s biggest security challenge in 2023, with these mistakes being the most common in the workplace:

• Poor password hygiene (not maintaining complex passwords and updating them regularly)
• Misuse of personal email
• Oversharing of info on social media
• Careless or inappropriate use of smartphones and collaboration tools

Wondering if the costs and time spent on security training is really worth the investment? That couldn’t be further from the truth. According to the same study, the average cost of a data breach in 2023, globally, was $4.35 million. The average for the U.S.? More than double that – $9.44 million!

What Does Effective Training Look Like?

Great security training is a combination of the right information delivered in the right formats at the right intervals.

First, your training program needs to educate employees on a wide variety of potential cyber threats. Security training needs to cover not just phishing attempts, but all other aspects of cybersecurity as well. It should discuss topics such as:

• Not oversharing work or personal information on social media
• Ensuring sensitive info isn’t revealed on remote video calls
• What social engineering is and how to not fall victim to it
• Never using free public Wi-Fi
• Why not to plug random USB drives into your PC
• Proper password management
• The importance of applying updates and patches

Second, you need to share this information in ways your employees will enjoy and engage with. Instead of a PowerPoint lecture, consider videos, gamification, personalized learning paths, and interactive training. Mix in some humor and entertainment value for good measure. Don’t let cybersecurity awareness training become something employees dread.

RELATED: Remote Work Security Best Practices

The Right Training Type and Cadence

How long can employees retain the information they’re taught in training? How often should you train so the effects don’t wear off?

• A 2023 study by Cybsafe found that only about 10% of employees remember all their cybersecurity training, which exposes companies to increased risks. The study highlighted that much of the training fails to engage employees effectively, leading to poor retention of critical security practices
• Another survey by Hornetsecurity in 2023 revealed that many organizations still don't provide adequate cybersecurity training for remote workers, even though these employees have access to sensitive data. This lack of regular and engaging training further exacerbates the problem of knowledge retention among employees

These findings suggest that to improve the effectiveness of cybersecurity training, organizations should consider adopting more interactive and contextually relevant training methods that align with how employees work and communicate daily.

RELATED: Cybersecurity Tools and the Human Element of Managed IT

The key is to find the right content type and cadence for your employees. Use the four- to six-month timeframe (two to three times a year) as a starting point and test your employees regularly to see how well they recall their training. You might need to train more often at first, but as your users perform better in testing, you can go longer between training sessions.

​​This frequency helps ensure that employees retain crucial security information and stay vigilant against emerging cyber threats. Ongoing reinforcement through regular security tips, updates, and phishing simulations is also recommended in order to keep cybersecurity awareness top-of-mind and reduce the likelihood of successful cyberattacks.

• It should also be noted that when you become aware of changes to data privacy laws and cybersecurity regulations, it’s important to get ahead of it and hold a special training session to make employees aware
• Tailoring the training to specific organizational needs and testing employee retention can further enhance effectiveness

If you’re ready to kick your employee training into gear, we can help you evaluate, select, and deploy the right training program for your organization. But first, you’ll need to take a closer look at your current state of cybersecurity.

How to Prepare for Cybersecurity Training

Is your team trained on what to look out for in the event of a cyberattack? You don’t have to wait until you experience a threat to find out!

We offer a free cybersecurity risk assessment tool that asks key questions about important topics, such as security awareness, software, defenses against malware infection and more.

Click the link below to take the quick and convenient assessment, and we’ll be in touch with possible next steps on how you can ensure you’re as airtight on your cybersecurity as possible.