Cultivating an Intuitive and Effective Security Culture

John Trest, Chief Learning Officer, VIPRE Security Group, explains how businesses can cultivate a security culture by overcoming security training barriers.

Research shows that human behavior remains the leading driver of data breaches — whether through stolen credentials, phishing attacks, misuse, or simple, inadvertent mistakes by well-meaning individuals. Under pressure, employees become susceptible to manipulation, and when confronted with the complexity of day-to-day work, human vulnerability becomes evident, which the bad actors actively look out for and take advantage of.

Cybersecurity culture

According to behavioural science, employees’ behaviour in the workplace is greatly influenced by the organisation’s existing culture. Whether it’s the successful implementation of technical controls, the likelihood of individuals reporting security incidents, or instances of accidental or malicious insider activity – they are all intricately linked to the cybersecurity culture.

Cybersecurity awareness is the first step to strengthening the human firewall

Good cybersecurity awareness training helps to embed a cybersecurity-conscious culture and security-first attitude in the workplace. Employees and organisations can establish stronger protective measures by enhancing cybersecurity consciousness. Rather than being seen as the “weakest link”, the human should be regarded as the critical defensive barrier for organisations.

With organisations facing increasing risks from social engineering attacks that manipulate behaviour and exploit human error, cybersecurity awareness and training equip employees with the ability to protect digital data from unauthorised access, and respond effectively to threats, countering intentional and unintentional security compromises.

Barriers to effective cybersecurity awareness training

Some key barriers typically impede the successful delivery of cybersecurity awareness training programs, jeopardising organisations’ security posture.

Poor employee engagement –When employees see training as boring or disconnected from their work, engagement suffers. Many security awareness programs compound this issue through complexity, excessive length, lack of relevant scenarios and imagery, and poor accessibility, creating barriers to participation and knowledge retention.

Lack of knowledge retention –Studies demonstrate that significant portions of newly learned information fade from memory rapidly, particularly when cybersecurity training occurs only annually. Such large breaks in training frequency create dangerous knowledge gaps that expose organisations to various security vulnerabilities.

Poor motivation –Cybersecurity training must inform and inspire employees to become active security defenders. Explaining the “why” effectively helps drive behavioural change through extrinsic motivation. However, addressing the “why me” question is crucial for developing more compelling intrinsic motivation. This personal context helps employees understand not just cybersecurity’s general importance, but its specific relevance to their workplace roles, themselves, and their loved ones. Intrinsic motivation is essential for lasting behavioural change and cultivating a truly security-conscious organisational culture. When employees personally connect with security practices, they transform from passive rule-followers to engaged protectors of company assets.

Content obsolescence –The dynamic evolution of security threats challenges cybersecurity awareness efforts, as today’s effective training may prove inadequate against tomorrow’s threats. When content becomes outdated, employees remain vulnerable to new attack techniques. Organisations must embrace continuous learning by implementing dynamic training programs that integrate seamlessly into employee workflows, incorporating emerging threats. By maintaining current, relevant training materials, organisations can ensure employees remain prepared to recognise and respond to evolving cybersecurity threats, ultimately preserving a robust security posture.

Undue focus on regulatory compliance –While regulatory compliance matters, it shouldn’t be the primary metric for cybersecurity awareness and training. Instead, programs should be evaluated by quantifiable improvements: reduced phishing clicks, increased reporting rates, fewer intrusions and breaches, decreased damage, and lower overall cyber risk.

Overcoming security awareness and training barriers

Adopting a more positive approach to security awareness, and viewing employees as positive assets that contribute to a cybersafe workplace, must be the goal. It helps to foster a positive culture in which employees feel more confident about their own actions when handling potential threats.

The cornerstone of engaging security training is twofold: convenience and relevance. When employees can easily access content that directly applies to their roles, they’re naturally more inclined to participate fully and retain critical information. This approach transforms security awareness from an obligatory task into a valuable, integrated part of the workday.

Some thoughts to help overcome the security awareness and training barriers:

Regular reinforcement and knowledge retention focus –To address retention challenges, implement training solutions featuring current, applicable, and engaging content. Incorporate evidence-based learning techniques including interactive elements, straightforward messaging, and real-life scenarios, to enhance retention of information and best practices.

Critical to long-term knowledge retention is the adoption of microlearning approaches. These methodologies divide security education into brief, compelling modules delivered frequently throughout the year. This short-form content helps keep the focus and maintains the attention of employees. By reinforcing key concepts shortly after initial exposure, microlearning creates multiple touchpoints that combat natural memory decay. In doing so, organisations transform cybersecurity awareness from an annual chore into an ongoing, sustainable practice that strengthens organisational security posture.

Gamification –Gamification can be a very useful tool in motivating learners to pay attention to and engage with a learning experience. Given the nature of how the human brain is stimulated by rewards in games, the knowledge obtained from this type of learning experience is retained for longer periods of time.

Though even simple gamification, such as points or leaderboards can have a positive impact on learners, the best way to leverage gamification elements into a learning experience is for them to be interwoven and inherent to the content. For instance, in a gamified cybersecurity scenario, players could assume the role of a White Hat hacker tasked with crafting convincing scam emails to fool unsuspecting staff. Players learn how cybercriminals operate and how to protect themselves by spending time in a hacker’s shoes. And the narrative built around the mechanics of the game makes the interactivities more relevant and compelling.

Role-specific training –Far too often, a broad-brush approach to cybersecurity training is used, making it less relevant for some staff. Targeted training designed for different workplace roles is more effective. For example, a company’s risk and compliance team needs cyber training that takes into account the demands of regulatory bodies, finance teams need to know about business email compromise, security teams must be trained on advances in threat detection, end users must understand how to spot a phishing email or deepfake, and so forth. Training that is tailored specially for business leaders is equally important.

Quality training –The quality of the training experience can make all the difference. Security awareness training is an expertise and a skill with adult learning trends, technology, and best practices. Specialist security trainers and instructional designers know how to get employees to engage with the program, based on an appreciation of employees’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, alongside their role-specific requirements.

Cybersecurity culture refers to the collective mindset and behaviours of an organisation’s employees toward protecting information assets. It involves integrating security practices into daily activities, fostering awareness and vigilance, and encouraging proactive reporting of incidents. It also reflects the unspoken beliefs towards security in the organisation. A strong cybersecurity culture is important to help reduce risks by making security a shared responsibility.