The Personalization of Cybersecurity Awareness Training

The Personalization of Cybersecurity Awareness Training

Think of the last time you took part in a workplace training program. Did it make you feel like a valued member of the team? Or was it an exhausting and tedious experience that made you feel like a number? Many employees would choose the second answer, and this is an enormous missed opportunity – especially when it comes to cybersecurity awareness training (CSAT).

At a time when cybersecurity awareness is a must-have skill for all employees, companies need to do a much better job of keeping their workforces engaged with CSAT content. One of the best ways to hold employees’ attention is to ensure that training content is personalized on the basis of different positions in the company, skill levels, learning styles, and a range of other variables.

Personalized learning offers advantages over other forms of education because it identifies the unique knowledge and skills employees possess, as well as the constraints they face. Beyond providing a more focused and engaging learning experience, personalization can give CISOs and other company leaders insight into the state of cybersecurity awareness at their organizations. Individual performance metrics provide granular data on employees’ susceptibility to phishing and other cyberthreats, personal characteristics that put them at risk, and patterns of behavior.

Let’s take a quick look at a few of the other ways personalized cybersecurity awareness training can keep your company safe and strengthen your workforce:

 

Relevance

When CSAT content is relevant to individual employees, it can directly address attack vectors they should be aware of, present scenarios they’re likely to encounter, and hold their attention more effectively than generic training materials. This will keep your CSAT program focused on what matters and drive sustainable cultural and behavioral change.

 

Opportunity

Employees are increasingly demanding professional development opportunities, and they want these opportunities to be oriented around their unique interests and aspirations. This gives companies a chance to build a more educated workforce with customized, engaging content that employees will actually enjoy while simultaneously improving their culture and increasing talent retention.

 

Accountability

Personalized CSAT platforms allow companies to hold themselves accountable by generating in-depth data on employee behavior. Companies need to know whether their CSAT programs are successfully educating employees and preventing cyberattacks. Individual-level data collection can provide a comprehensive understanding of which types of cyberattacks employees are likely to fall for, the characteristics and habits that are putting the company at risk, and who needs assistance.

 

A key element of cybersecurity awareness is the empowerment of your employees. Despite their indispensable role in protecting the company from cyberattacks, this can seem like a daunting task for many employees. By developing a CSAT program that meets all employees where they are, companies can dispel these fears and build a workforce that’s prepared for cyberthreats at every level. NINJIO’s ready to help you do that.