Common Pitfalls of Security Awareness Training

Security awareness training is a vital component of strengthening an organization’s cybersecurity posture, but many struggle to make it effective. Keeping employees engaged during training can be challenging. Equally difficult is ensuring the program stays updated with evolving cyber threats and defense strategies.

We are here to help you strengthen your security awareness training program by addressing some common pitfalls and ways to improve training effectiveness:

1. Training Is Too Infrequent

   
   The Problem:

   Many companies provide security training just once a year or every two years, overwhelming employees with a flood of tips and best practices. This approach leads to information overload and quick forgetfulness, and fails to address emerging cyber threats in a timely manner.

   The Solution:

• Execute bite-sized micro-learning sessions throughout the year instead of all at once. CampusGuard delivers training in micro-modules, encouraging customers to implement and share various topics throughout the year to boost knowledge retention.
• Reinforce key messages with phishing simulations to test your staff on what they’ve learned.
• Encourage a culture of cybersecurity with regular updates and reminders.
• Offer an on-demand library of tips and best practices that employees can refer to as a refresher.

2. Content Is Boring and Generic

   
   The Problem:

   The training is filled with long-winded content that causes employees to tune out and miss key messages. Staff is often subjected to the same training, year after year, with no new content or methods to engage them on what is being taught.

   Generic training that doesn’t consider employees’ specific job roles may seem irrelevant, further reducing motivation to apply cybersecurity best practices.

   The Solution:

• Update training annually and as risks and requirements evolve. Including recent events and lessons learned helps keep users engaged and motivated to learn.
• Use engaging formats like videos, interactive quizzes, gamification, and real-world attack examples and simulations.
• Make it relevant by tailoring content to employees’ roles (e.g., finance teams need specific training about business email compromise, while PCI DSS training should be related to the user’s specific role, such as cashier, executive, or IT staff). CampusGuard offers role-based learning to provide targeted training to those who need it.
• Share real-life cybersecurity incidents to make the risks feel more tangible.
• Include best practices that can be implemented both at work and in employees’ personal lives.

3. Employees See Training as a Compliance Checkbox

   The Problem:

   If security awareness training feels like a mandatory corporate exercise, employees won’t take it seriously. The goal of training is to encourage employees to embrace a security-minded culture that incorporates best practices and actionable steps in their everyday roles and responsibilities.

   The Solution:

• Define security as everyone’s responsibility to protect not only the company, but also employees’ private data.
• Align training with organizational policies to ensure consistent messaging and processes.
• Encourage leadership to actively participate and reinforce the importance of security awareness.
• Create an incentive system with recognition, rewards, or competitions for good security behavior.

4. No Metrics or Follow-Up Process

   The Problem:

   Not tracking the results of employee training, such as quiz scores, training completion rates, and phishing campaign behavior, makes it impossible to know if your training is effective or if employees are still making security mistakes.

   The Solution:

• Measure employee engagement and quiz scores to identify knowledge gaps.
• Share employee training results with your leadership and executive teams to keep them informed and involved in how the staff is performing.
• Track training results over time to map patterns, progress, or areas where improvement is needed.
• Track phishing simulation results to see how many employees click on fake links within emails and address if any training gaps exist.
• Monitor help desk requests to determine if ongoing training is helping to reduce user support calls and compromised devices.
• Gather employee feedback on the current training and suggestions to improve future training sessions.

5. Ignoring Different Learning Styles

   The Problem:

   Some security awareness training often relies on a one-size-fits-all approach, such as lengthy slide presentations or extensive text-based guides. However, employees absorb information differently. Some may learn best through visual content, while others prefer hands-on experiences.

   Without varied learning formats, many employees will disengage, leading to poor retention and ineffective training.

   The Solution:

• Offer multiple formats, including videos, infographics, hands-on exercises, and written content.
• Allow employees to learn at their own pace with on-demand security training, however, you should always include a deadline to complete and enforce training requirements.
• When possible, create role-specific training to make lessons more relevant.

Effective security awareness training isn’t just about checking a compliance box—it should be engaging, practical, and ongoing so that it resonates with staff. By making training interactive, personalized, and continuous, you can build a culture where employees apply what they’ve learned to actively protect the company from cyber threats.

Interested in learning more about CampusGuard’s security awareness and compliance training? Request a free demo or contact us to get started!