Global spending on employee cybersecurity awareness training is predicted to exceed $10 billion USD by 2027, up from around $5.6 billion USD in 2023, according to the latest estimates from Cybersecurity Ventures. Why? Because more companies than ever are realizing employees are their best defense against hackers. In fact, industry analysts estimate that about 85% of the hacks come directly through employee inboxes and devices.
Cybersecurity awareness training has earned its place as a key part of a company’s defenses. Fortunately, the cybersecurity industry has responded with training programs employees can complete online in quick, easy, and continuously updated lessons. Best of all, they’re affordable, scalable, and easy to implement—even for small organizations. Here’s what you can expect when you start shopping for security awareness training programs.
What is Cybersecurity Awareness Training?
Cybersecurity Awareness Training is all about teaching your team how to keep your company’s data safe from cyber threats. It covers everything from spotting phishing emails and creating strong passwords to understanding malware and following best practices for data protection. By making sure everyone is up to speed on these topics, you can greatly reduce the risk of cyberattacks and stay compliant with regulations. Regular training helps build a security-first mindset, which is crucial for protecting both personal and company data in today’s digital world.
What would a cybersecurity awareness training program look like at your company? Let’s get into it.
How Does Cybersecurity Awareness Training Work?
Most modern cybersecurity awareness training programs are delivered online in short training modules employees can watch on their work devices. New lessons come out monthly, and are delivered in fun, engaging videos. They highlight some of the latest tricks hackers are using to trick employees into giving up protected data, sharing passwords, or clicking on bogus links that deliver malware into company systems. When employees finish watching the lessons, many programs will prompt them to take a quick test to prove that they’ve understood the material. The “grades” and completion certificates for these courses are then stored in the company’s systems and usually attached to their human resources files.
The best programs will offer a company portal which will allow network administrators the ability to onboard/offboard users, store testing data, and generate company wide reports and tracking data. These reports provide crucial third-party attribution for your good cybersecurity practices. Regulators, cyber-risk insurers, potential vendors, and customers may ask to see these reports as part of routine cybersecurity reviews of your company. With programs like these, you’ll be one step ahead of the game.
How Much Does Cybersecurity Awareness Training Cost?
Estimates for cybersecurity awareness programs will vary widely. We recommend having a trained IT manager from your staff or managed IT service provider secure a custom quote from reputable training companies. The cost of your program will depend on these factors:
- The number of employees, or “users,” who will be taking the training
- The timeframe of its use—most cybersecurity awareness programs are billed on a yearly basis
- The complexity of the program
Most companies can expect to pay anywhere from $8 to $25 per user, per year for the program. Most providers will also charge a “setup fee” to get started which can run several hundred dollars. Once you’ve started a program, we recommend you stay with it, year after year. This ensures new employees get up to speed quickly, and existing employees stay up to date on the latest threats.
What Does Cybersecurity Awareness Training Cover?
The best training programs teach employees how to be discerning internet citizens who can spot common traps and tricks hackers use. They’ll use real world examples ripped from the headilnes to show what not to do. Rather than overwhelm, these training programs show how breaches can be avoided with a few common sense strategies, and empower employees to be the front line of defense for their companies. Here’s just a few of the topics you can expect to be covered.
Email Safety
Employees learn how to spot spoofing, social engineering, malware, and phishing attempts. They will be given simulations to see if they can properly identify and respond to email scams and hacking attempts. Your team will learn how to tell suspicious URLs from good ones, how to verify a senders address and identity and how to protect confidential or proprietary information.
Safe Online Behaviors
From securing devices to the risks of installing unapproved software, your cybersecurity awareness training will cover unintentionally risky behaviors your employees do that could lead to a breach. From clicking on the wrong links, to accepting cookies and tracking software, employees will learn how to stay safe when they’re surfing the web.
Social Media Compliance
What can you say and not say about the company you work for on social media? What social media sites are engines for thieves and disinformation? How can you avoid sharing personal information on social media that can give theives clues to your passwords?
Password Hygiene
As part of any cybersecurity awareness training, employees need to learn about how dangerous certain behaviors are, like password sharing, weak password changes and reusng passwords for multiple applications. Most trainings will also explain two-factor authentication, and why a double login is necessary.
Cybersecurity Trends
What are the latest tools thieves are using to launch cyber attacks? Your entire team needs to understand just how sophisticated cyberattacks have become so they can learn to avoid them. Cybersecurity awareness training will cover threats, both new and existing. It will also cover best practices to identify and prevent potential breaches.
Interested in Getting a Training Program Started at Your Company?
Integris can help. We offer training programs for small and mid-sized companies, delivered by the industry’s most trusted training vendors. We’d love to help you install, administrate, and monitor your training program. Contact us today for a free consultation.
