4 Creative Ways to Make Cybersecurity Awareness Training More Engaging
In 2024, cyber attacks have resulted in more than 1 billion stolen records, and that number is only going up1.
Companies of every size are seeing an increase in cyber threats, which can have devastating financial, reputational, and legal consequences for your business. Employees can be your first—maybe even your best—line of defense against security breaches. But only if they’ve had the right cybersecurity awareness training.
Why Cybersecurity Awareness Training Matters
Whether they’re the weakest link or your strongest asset, employees play a significant role in the effectiveness of your cybersecurity strategy. Implementing ongoing cybersecurity awareness education and training helps empower them to be part of the solution by recognizing and avoiding common cyber threats.
Well-informed employees can identify phishing and social engineering attempts, secure their devices, and follow other cybersecurity best practices that will significantly lower your organization’s risk profile.
Unfortunately, many employees perceive cybersecurity as an IT issue, not a “me” issue that directly impacts them. Without making it personal, employees may not engage with training materials.
Compounding this lack of engagement is the fact that traditional cybersecurity training can be dry, overly technical, and disruptive to employees’ primary job duties. Employees may also feel overwhelmed by frequent updates or changes in cybersecurity protocols, especially if they are delivered ad hoc with no clear strategy in place.
4 Creative Ways to Get Employees Engaged with Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Taking a creative approach to cybersecurity awareness training is an effective way to get employees engaged in the learning process. Here are a few examples of non-traditional (i.e., not boring) ways to deliver a training curriculum.
Gamification
Apply game mechanics to cybersecurity awareness training to increase engagement with the training materials and improve retention. Introducing elements of competition and reward to the training delivery helps reinforce “good” decision-making and emphasizes the benefits of adhering to cybersecurity best practices.?
Research shows that focusing on end-user behavior, especially through gamification, has a significant impact on the success of cybersecurity training programs2.?
Examples of game-training activities include rewarding participants for creating and remembering complex passwords, gathering information about a colleague then designing a mock phishing campaign targeting them, and playing card or board games that teach players to assess vulnerabilities and recognize security gaps.
Interactive simulations
Set up a live simulation where employees unexpectedly receive a fake phishing email or ransomware notification. Measure employee responses to gauge employee awareness and their ability to identify and respond to threats. Use the results of the exercise as a springboard for training and education.
Storytelling
Use real-world examples of high-profile data breaches to demonstrate the consequences of poor cybersecurity practices. Emphasize how human error makes even the biggest enterprises vulnerable to cyber threats.
Logically’s?new series, “Threat Factor: A Cybersecurity Mystery,” is an engaging, interactive example of how to use storytelling to increase cybersecurity awareness.?
Over the course of six episodes, “Threat Factor” tells an evolving story of an organization that is hit by a ransomware attack after failing to follow cybersecurity best practices.
The audience is invited along on the investigation as the story unfolds, revealing how the organization fell victim to a cyber incident due to undetected vulnerabilities and risky behaviors.?
The vulnerabilities in the story are based on real-world events and serve to show how everyday behaviors can lead to catastrophic consequences.
You can catch up on the case?here.
Case studies
Share case studies that present real-world scenarios that employees can relate to. When employees see the consequences of cybersecurity breaches in situations similar to their own work, it becomes easier to understand the risks and why vigilance is important.
Consider a case study about a marketer at a tech company who gives away USB drives at a tradeshow. This is an opportune moment for a threat actor to throw in their tainted USB drives into the pile which exposes your prospects to risk.
This case study is a great way to demonstrate your marketing team’s direct role in risk mitigation.
Create a Cybersecurity-centric Culture
When everyone—at every level—in the organization feels responsible for safeguarding data, it creates a sense of accountability that reduces careless mistakes and mitigates the risk of security breaches.
Taking a creative approach to cybersecurity awareness training increases engagement, retention, and effectiveness, giving employees the knowledge and awareness needed to be your organization’s first line of defense.
Webinar: Avoiding the Phish Bowl
Resource: Security Assessment