11 Important Benefits of Security Awareness Training

Understanding the 11 key benefits of security awareness training is significant as organizations face increasingly sophisticated threats, including social engineering tactics like phishing and SMS phishing (Smishing) in 2024.

CISCO's research indicates that about 90% of data breaches result from such attacks, emphasizing the significant role of human error in security breaches. This reality makes security awareness training essential, not optional, transforming employees from information security risks into robust defenders.

Security awareness training is crucial in mitigating various cybersecurity risks that can lead to significant financial losses, operational disruptions, and reputational damage. Below are data-backed examples illustrating these impacts:

In 2017, Equifax incurred over $1 billion in penalties following a major data breach that compromised sensitive information of approximately 150 million consumers.

In May 2021, a ransomware attack on JBS, a leading meat supplier, forced the temporary shutdown of all its U.S. beef processing facilities, significantly disrupting operations and affecting the broader supply chain.

In 2020, the Manchester United Football Club suffered a cyberattack that disrupted its systems, leading to concerns over data security and negatively impacting the club's reputation among fans and stakeholders.

These examples underscore the importance of comprehensive security awareness training to prevent such detrimental outcomes.

What are the 11 Benefits of Security Awareness Training?

Security awareness training offers numerous benefits: it minimizes data breaches and email scams through better recognition of phishing attempts, ensures compliance with regulations, and builds a proactive security culture.

Please see the 11 benefits of cyber security awareness training below:

1. Build a security-focused culture

Security awareness training is important for creating an organization's culture focused on security. Here are the key reasons why security awareness training is important for your business culture:

• Reduces Human Error: A major study by IBM identified that 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error. Security awareness training addresses this problem by educating employees on the common mistakes that lead to security breaches and how to avoid them.

• Aligns Employee Behavior with Security Protocols: Regular and comprehensive training ensures that all employees are familiar with the organization’s security protocols. This alignment helps everyone understand their role in safeguarding the company's assets, making it more likely that they will act correctly in day-to-day operations.
• Preventing Social Engineering Attacks: Sacred Heart University’s report reveals that social engineering accounts for 98% of all cyber attacks. Cyber security awareness training programs include phishing simulations that train employees to recognize the signs of phishing emails and prevent them before they cause harm to individuals or the organization. This proactive approach will help employees identify and report security risks before they escalate into serious issues.
• Preventing Vishing Attacks: Keepnet’s 2024 Voice Phishing (Vishing) Response Report reveals that 70% of organizations have been victims of fake phone calls (vishing). Vishing attacks cost an average of $14 million per year per organization. Security awareness training with vishing simulations can help employees to recognize and respond to voice phishing attacks.
• Strengthens Defenses Against Cyber Attacks: Through continuous cyber security education on the latest security threats and defense mechanisms, employees become an active part of the organization's defenses. Well-informed employees can serve as the first defense against cyber attacks, reducing the organization’s overall security risk.
• Supports Compliance with Regulations: Many industries are subject to regulations that require security awareness training. Regular training helps organizations comply with these legal requirements, avoiding fines and other penalties for non-compliance.

2. Data Breach Risk Reduction

One of the key benefits of cybersecurity awareness training is reducing the risk of data breaches. Implementing security awareness training can boost the identification and reporting of phishing attacks. See this case study about how security awareness helps reduce data breach risk.

The case study above demonstrates the effectiveness of targeted training programs in empowering employees to proactively detect and respond to potential security threats and reduce data breach risks.

3. Minimizing Legal Risks by Educating Employees

Many industries are governed by strict regulations designed to protect sensitive information. For instance, in healthcare, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires the secure handling of patient data. Failing to comply with HIPAA can lead to fines of over $1.5 million. Similarly, the finance sector is regulated by laws like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires strict auditing and reporting standards to prevent fraud.

Security awareness training helps prevent these costly penalties by educating employees on these specific regulations. Employees learn not only what these rules are but also practical ways to apply them in their daily work tasks. This includes how to properly secure and handle confidential information and understanding the legal consequences of non-compliance. By teaching this knowledge, businesses can ensure they adhere to these regulations and avoid severe legal and financial penalties.

4. Boosting Employee Confidence through Training

The other key benefit of security awareness training is raising employee confidence. When employees understand and are trained in security, they feel more competent and confident in managing data. This leads to a more secure workplace and greater job performance.

Research from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) supports this, showing that well-trained employees experience a 70% increase in confidence when handling sensitive information. This increased confidence not only improves their performance but also contributes to a safer and more productive workplace.

In addition, findings from expert Devlin Pec show that 92% of employees feel that training has a positive impact on their engagement at work. This shows that investing in comprehensive cybersecurity training not only strengthens security but also creates a more engaged and satisfied workforce.

5. Building Customer Trust

Building customer trust is critical to any business. When customers trust a company, they are more likely to remain loyal and recommend it to others. This trust is especially important in industries where companies handle sensitive personal and financial information.

A survey by the Ponemon Institute found that 74% of customers feel more confident in companies that train their employees in cybersecurity. This suggests that customers see security training as a sign of reliability and commitment to their security.

By providing regular security awareness training, companies demonstrate their commitment to protecting customer data. This includes educating employees on how to securely handle sensitive information and recognize potential cyber threats. Compliance with industry regulations, such as GDPR or HIPAA etc, further assures customers of the company's commitment to data protection.

In addition, training employees to prevent common and dangerous cyber threats like phishing demonstrates proactive efforts to protect customer information. In summary, security awareness training not only protects data, but also builds customer trust by demonstrating that the company prioritizes their privacy and security.

6. Minimizing Human Error in Cybersecurity

According to the IBM Data Breach Report, human error costs companies an average of $5.01 million, paving the way to Business Email Compromise attacks (BEC). These errors also often result from small actions that can have big consequences, leading to security breaches. One of the key benefits of security awareness training is to reduce these risks by teaching employees a range of important practices:

• Clean Desk Policy
• Strong Password Creation
• Phishing Awareness
• Safe Data Handling
• Regular Security Audits and Assessments
• Incident Reporting Procedures
• Mobile Device Security
• Social Media Guidelines
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

By teaching these practices, organizations not only reduce the chances of errors leading to breaches but also create a strong culture of security awareness, greatly improving their overall security.

7. Minimizing The Risk of Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks

The other key benefit of security awareness training is to minimize the risk of phishing and social engineering attacks. Security awareness training fights against phishing and social engineering threats by teaching employees to recognize suspicious signs like unexpected email requests for sensitive information or urgent demands that exploit human psychology.

Training includes verifying the authenticity of requests through secure channels like calling over the phone and staying updated on cybercriminal tactics. Employees also learn best practices such as looking at the links, sender address, and urgency language to spot phishing emails.

Security awareness training combined with phishing simulation tests creates the perfect strategy to help employees understand, identify, prevent, and report phishing threats. The training provides theoretical knowledge about phishing, while the simulation tests allow employees to safely practice recognizing and responding to fake phishing scenarios.

These measures not only prevent human mistakes but also strengthen the entire organization's defense against cyber threats.

8. Immediate Response to Cybersecurity Incidents

Employees who are well-informed about cyber threats are better equipped to quickly identify and report suspicious activities like phishing emails or other cyber threats. The quicker these threats are recognized and dealt with, the less damage they are likely to cause to the organization. This prompt response is so important in reducing the impact of a security breach.

Research from Keepnet highlights that security awareness training can significantly enhance the rate of incident reporting, increasing it by up to 91% within a year. This improvement in reporting speeds up the organization's ability to respond to and manage security incidents effectively, further securing the workplace from potential cyber damage.

9. Protection Against the Most Common Attacks

One of the important benefit of security awareness training is teaching employees how to defend against common cyber threats like phishing, malware, and tricks used by hackers. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, these types of threats are responsible for 70% of breaches, underscoring the importance of being well-prepared.

Security awareness training plays a significant role in combatting these threats by educating individuals and organizations on how these attacks work, including the mechanics of phishing, malware, and other malicious strategies. By understanding the nature of these threats, employees are better equipped to recognize and respond to them effectively.

10. Cost Savings

The benefits of cybersecurity training extend to cost savings as well. Investing in a security awareness training program yields substantial financial benefits. IBM reports that the average cost of a data breach, now at $3.86 million, can be mitigated through the implementation of comprehensive training programs. Security awareness training reduces costs by minimizing the frequency and impact of data breaches.

When employees are trained to recognize and respond to security threats, they can prevent many potential breaches from happening. Preventing these breaches saves the company significant money in legal fees, fines, and recovery costs.

Additionally, well-trained employees can deal with small problems before they turn into bigger and more expensive issues, further protecting the organization’s financial resources.

11. Stay Secure Continuously

Staying secure continuously through cybersecurity awareness training is a key benefit for organizations looking to enhance their security posture. By continuously educating employees on how to identify and respond to cyber threats, companies can significantly reduce the likelihood and impact of cyberattacks.

Regular training sessions help employees stay alert to threats like social engineering attacks such as phishing, smishing, vishing, mfa phishing, or other cyber threats that put the company at data breach risk. The quicker and more effectively threats are managed, the less damage they are likely to cause. This proactive approach not only saves substantial costs associated with handling data breaches—such as investigation expenses, legal fees, and fines—but also preserves the company's reputation and customer trust.

In summary, ongoing security training is an important investment in the company's ability to handle threats, protecting both its finances and its relationships with customers and partners.

Please also look at our 2024 security awareness training statistics research to understand the importance of security awareness training for your business.

Keepnet Lab’s Security Awareness Training

Keepnet Labs offers a comprehensive security awareness training platform that helps organizations build a strong security culture and enhance their defenses against social engineering attacks and other cyber threats.

• Security Training Market Place: With a selection from over 12 content providers and access to more than 2000 training modules, Keepnet allows organizations to choose the educational style that best fits their needs, ensuring training remains current and effective.
• Behavior-Based Training: This innovative feature uses phishing simulators across various platforms (Voice, SMS, QR Codes, Callback, MFA) to deploy training based on users’ incorrect behaviors. It helps prevent future mistakes and potentially saves up to $1 million annually.
• User-Centric Training Experience: Trusted by over 2 million users, the platform offers a rich content selection from the world's largest security libraries. It allows organizations to download SCORM-compliant training packages and integrate them with their existing LMS, enhancing flexibility.
• Personalized Learning and Gamification: Keepnet Labs uses gamification and engaging storytelling to make training sessions more interactive and memorable. This includes leaderboards and custom certificates to celebrate learning achievements.
• SMS Training Delivery & Detailed Reporting: Training is delivered directly to mobiles via SMS, which is ideal for industries with employees who have limited internet access. The platform also provides advanced and customizable reports to track learning progression and the effectiveness of the training.
• Comprehensive and Specialized Training Options: The platform includes specialized materials and regulatory training to meet various compliance needs (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.). Training is also tailored to different organizational roles, enhancing relevance and effectiveness.
• Automated and Customizable Content: Keepnet Labs automates security training based on observed behaviors and offers the option to create and integrate custom training materials, providing a highly adaptable learning environment.

Watch the YouTube video below and see how Keepnet’s security awareness training program creates a security culture within your organization by empowering your employees to fight against cyber threats.

Editor's Note: This blog was updated on December 6, 2024.