How To Improve Employee Understanding Of Security Risks

Posted on 3/3/2026, 1:51:18 PM

The global cost of cybercrime is expected to reach $12 trillion per year by 2031. We often think about international brands and high-profile data breaches when talking about cybercrime, but small businesses are the most common targets. Around 50% of annual cyberattacks involve small organizations, with 60% failing within six months of a significant security incident. One of the best ways to protect your company against cybercriminals is to improve employee understanding and education. In this guide, we’ll outline some simple steps to help you shield your business through enhanced knowledge of security risks. 

Why is employee understanding important?

Your employees play a critical role in protecting your company against threats and security risks. It is estimated that up to 95% of cyberattacks and data breaches are caused by human errors. Most cases involve weak passwords and failing to detect phishing scams. Employees unwittingly share data, click on links, or allow others to gain access to networks or files. Improving understanding can make a dramatic difference. If your employees have the relevant training and knowledge, they can detect threats, report suspicious activity, and shut attempts down. It’s also beneficial to have these skills for everyday life. We all use devices and networks daily. If you know how to use them safely and enhance security, this minimizes risks, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. 

Ways to improve education and knowledge

Improving employee education and knowledge can have an incredible impact on business security. Research suggests that effective training programs can lower risks from 60% to 10%. Here are some strategies you can employ to enhance employee skills, confidence, knowledge, and understanding:

Cybersecurity training

Cybersecurity training is designed to help employees detect threats, identify suspicious activity, react appropriately, and stay safe online. As a business owner, you can benefit from all kinds of training options, including in-person workshops, online courses, interactive exercises, and simulations. Phishing simulations are a great example of interactive activities that educate employees. They teach individuals about the warning signs to look out for, help them spot suspicious messages and emails, and reduce the risk of people following links or sharing sensitive data. 

If you’re looking for training providers or programs, it’s helpful to focus on the areas most relevant to your business and industry, and get insights from your team about delivery methods. Some people may prefer online learning, while others might feel that in-person training is better for them. Providing training on an ongoing basis is beneficial for businesses across all industries, as threats evolve. 

Protecting your data

We all share data regularly, often without really thinking about it. Educating your team about protecting personal data can have a positive impact on how they treat data at work. If you understand the risks of sharing sensitive information with the wrong people and using unsecured sites, this will affect how you manage data in the workplace. Data brokers share data, such as personal addresses, names, and birth dates, across the web. You can remove information manually, but utilizing a privacy protection service offers a multitude of benefits. Automated services save you time and effort and maximize the chances of eliminating data from more sites. Encouraging your employees to take control of their personal data can help you implement targeted company security policies while reinforcing the importance of recognizing risks. 

Encouraging simple security strategies in day-to-day life can also help you shield your company. Examples include using strong passwords, sticking to secure networks and websites, and taking advantage of innovative security tools and software when working from home or on the move. 

Implementing clear, robust security policies and guidelines

Most security breaches are caused by human mistakes. Implementing clear and robust cybersecurity guidelines in the workplace can have an incredible impact. It’s beneficial to outline clear instructions and guidelines surrounding key areas, such as the use of passwords and multifactor authentication, gaining access to sensitive data or restricted files, reporting threats and suspicious behavior, and using personal devices at work.

Cyber threats change and evolve continuously, so it’s critical to review your policies and protocols frequently. Update them regularly to ensure they remain relevant. You may also need to modify guidelines if you experience cyberattacks or spot weaknesses in your defenses. 

Work with experts

Most employees who don’t have a background in IT or cybersecurity don’t have in-depth knowledge about cybercrime. You can boost confidence, reduce the risks of cyberattacks and downtime, minimize disruptions, and improve knowledge, learning, and understanding by working with experts. Whether you have a large organization with a dedicated IT department, you outsource IT support services, or you work with agencies on an on-demand basis, it’s beneficial for your employees to have quick and easy access to advice and technical support. 

Working with professionals can help you develop employee skills and awareness if you go beyond basic IT support, troubleshooting, and solving problems. It’s an excellent idea to organize talks and workshops to allow experts to impart their knowledge. It’s helpful for individuals to understand what threats look like, how to respond to them, how to reduce risks, and what happens if cybercriminals are successful. Being aware of the implications of ignoring policies or adopting a relaxed attitude to security can help to improve compliance with rules and guidelines. 

If you’re on a mission to support learning and education, it’s an excellent idea to communicate with your team and ascertain what they want to find out, how they want to learn, and what issues they experience most frequently. This can help you find tailored training programs and work with experts to cover specific areas, threats, or topics. 

There are multiple ways to protect your business against cybercrime, but improving employee knowledge and understanding is arguably the most important. Up to 95% of security incidents are caused by human errors. Effective ways to improve awareness, knowledge, and understanding include providing employee training, encouraging positive personal habits and behaviors inside and outside of the workplace, implementing robust company policies and guidelines, and working with IT and cybersecurity experts.