How Effective Is Security Training in Preventing Cyber Attacks?

This blog post explores the importance of behavior-based security awareness training in combating phishing and cyber threats. Automate training, boost detection speed, and leverage AI to strengthen your organization’s defenses.

2024-01-22

How Effective Is Security Training in Preventing Cyber Attacks?

Cyber-defences keep getting taller, but attackers simply walk through the human side door. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2024 shows the global average breach hit USD 4.88 million, a 10 % jump in a single year. Meanwhile, “breach blindness” research finds it still takes roughly 194 days to detect an incident, giving criminals half a year to monetise stolen data (Source).

The root cause stays stubbornly constant: human behaviour. Phishing links, rogue QR codes, deep-fake voice calls, and MFA-fatigue prompts rely on a moment of inattention, not code exploits. According to Verizon DBIR 2025, 60% of breaches are related to human error.

Security awareness and behavior-change programs, therefore, remain the most cost-effective risk-reduction lever available to CISOs. But do they really work?

In this blog post, you’ll find:

Keepnet customer stories—across banking, telecom, retail, and more—demonstrating measurable risk reduction.
Testimonials from CISOs, CEOs, and CTOs.
How Keepnet can help with your security awareness training programs.

Case Studies Prove Security Awareness Training Works

Numbers tell a story, but lived experience turns the data into proof. The organisations you’re about to meet span sectors—from fintech to hospitality—and geographies on four continents, yet they share three clear outcomes:

Employee behavior changed for good. Simulations became second-nature drills, not one-off tests; risky clicks fell by double-digit percentages, and “see-something-say-something” habits took root.
Phishing-report volumes skyrocketed. Whether the channel was Outlook, Teams, or SMS, front-line staff shifted from silent bystanders to the security team’s fastest early-warning sensor, cutting attacker dwell time from days to minutes.
Potential breaches were stopped in their tracks. Real attempted compromises—BEC, callback phishing, QR malware drops—were neutralized because trained employees recognized the tell-tale signs and alerted the SOC before any crown-jewel data left the building.

These case studies aren’t marketing fluff; they’re field evidence that well-designed security awareness training programs deliver measurable ROI by turning the “human firewall” from myth into reality. Keep these themes in mind as you explore each story below and imagine how the same playbook could fortify your own organisation.

Tiryaki – Twelve Countries, One Security Culture

Security Awareness Training Success Stories Tiryaki

What happens when a commodity-trading giant with offices stretching from Rotterdam to Dubai decides to kill phishing at the root? Tiryaki set out to replace ad-hoc local efforts with a single, data-driven programme that every employee—no matter the language—could rally around.

Challenge: A 1,500-person agrifood processor was battling relentless phishing while juggling 12 languages and time zones.
Solution: Keepnet’s multi-vector simulator (email, SMS, voice, QR, callback), bite-size micro-learning and a CEO-level KPI dashboard.
Results: Malicious-click rate slashed 82 % (28 % → 3 %) in six months. Phishing-report volume jumped 4.8×.

Watch the YouTube video below to learn how Tirkaki became successful through security awareness training.

Read the full security awareness success story here.

Wisebits – FinTech Beats the PCI Clock

Security Awareness Training Wisebits

With a looming PCI-DSS audit—and reputational stakes sky-high—Wisebits needed to prove that people were no longer its weakest link.

Challenge: Home-grown tools consumed hours; 25 % of staff still failed phishing tests.
Solution: Fifteen-minute campaign builder, quarterly vishing drills, auto-translated micro-courses.
Results: Failure rate collapsed to 3–4 % even on advanced scenarios. Campaign set-up time shrank to 10 minutes.

Watch the YouTube video below to learn how Wisebits became successful through Keepnet security awareness training.

Read the full security awareness success story here.

Sports & Digital Entertainment – Keeping Fans’ Data Safe

Awarenes Training Customer Successs Story

Attackers targeted VIP account managers with fraud schemes. The company decided to transform excitement into teachable moments.

Challenge: Phishing lured high-value staff.
Solution: Story-driven videos and simulations scheduled around match days.
Results: Employee engagement up 91 %. Phishing-spotting accuracy climbed 85 %, preventing seven-figure fraud.

Read the full security awareness success story here.

Nautilus – Crews Turn 97 % Faster

Naitulus Security Awareness Training

Life at sea means patchy connectivity and endless downtime for social browsing—fertile ground for ransomware lures. Nautilus needed a solution that worked offline as well as online.

Challenge: Long-tenure crews with intermittent internet fell for ransomware bait.
Solution: QR-based lessons that sync at port plus offline reporting forms.
Results: Click-throughs down 75 %. Median time-to-report accelerated 97 % (6 h → 11 min).

Read the full security awareness training success story here.

Leading Telecom—Killing Callback Phishing

Telecommunication security awareness training

Call center agents handle millions of customer calls; attackers slipped in fake voicemail tasks that installed remote-control tools. A telecom giant fought back with voice-based simulations.

Challenge: 22,000 agents exposed to voicemail lures.
Solution: AI-generated voice templates and just-in-time nudges.
Results: The vishing risk score crashed from 79 % to 7 % in 12 months. Annual incident-handling spend cut by nearly US$ 18k.

Further reading

Global Retailer – QR Phishing Neutralised

Quishing Success Story

Rogue QR codes on self-service kiosks tricked night-shift workers into credential theft. The retailer’s answer: teach every employee to “scan with scepticism.”

Challenge: 6 000 stores, 27 000 staff scanning rogue codes.
Solution: Quishing simulator, behaviour-based nudges, store-level leaderboards.
Results: QR-phish recognition up 91 %. Potential annual losses of US $1.9 m avoided.

Further reading

Technology Retailer – Silencing the Vishing Scammers

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Tech-store employees receive endless warranty-scam calls. The chain weaponised realistic voice simulations to teach staff to spot social engineering in real time.

Challenge: 2 500 store employees fielded daily phone scams.
Solution: Vishing simulator with AI text-to-speech and store-specific scripts.
Results: Voice-scam spotting surged from 45% to 80% in 90 days. $439K fraud prevented annually.

Read the full awareness success story.

What Decision-Makers Say About Keepnet Security Awareness Training

Behind every successful security transformation is a leader who championed the change. CISOs, IT directors, and compliance heads or CEOs across industries have seen firsthand how Keepnet’s behavior-focused training reshapes employee habits and reduces risk.

Here’s what they have to say about the impact of Keepnet security awareness training:

Keepnet’s platform, tailored for managed services, has streamlined our operations, making us more efficient and client-centric. We're set to redefine client satisfaction with Keepnet and expand our horizons.

Chad Fullerton

Fullerton - ECI

Keepnet has amplified our Human Risk Management capabilities. Their platform allowed our channel partners to onboard customers effortlessly. Direct email creation made phishing simulations and training seamless. White labeling boosted both our and our partners' brand visibility. The varied licensing options and a clear role and permission structure simplified customer management. Together with Keepnet, we secure networks and educate individuals effectively.

Tom Jackson

CEO - Cyber Distribution

From the moment I was introduced to Keepnet, I fell in love with Keepnet's platform and their approach. The choice of 9 different, market-leading cybersecurity awareness training content providers, the clean and easy UI, the gamification of performance leader boards, the sims that can target users via email, SMS or via voice messages set them apart from other SATT providers.

But it didn’t stop there, the team introduced me to the cybersecurity operations features – darkweb lookups, incident response contribution, programmatic scheduling and coordination of all training and simulation.

Ozan and the senior leadership team are each down-to-Earth, energised, passionate people who know they have a great service that can freshen things up for end customers and MSSPs running services. I’ve been infected with their enthusiasm and I’m seeing it take hold in our specialist team too. I can’t wait to see it happen in our channel partners and their customers too!

Lance Williams

CTO - Distology

Computacenter have decided to partner with Keepnet based on their ability to tackle a growing challenge, Phishing is a big problem and we are using their technology to help our customers against the ever-changing threat landscape and combat Email, Voice, SMS and other forms of Phishing attacks. With so many new threat vectors in today’s market, Computacenter is the partner of choice to help find the best solution and by partnering with Keepnet we are able to do just that. We are excited to see the partnership grow from strength to strength, together we can help our customers reach their goals.

Andrew Smyth

Partner Management - Computacenter

Creating cybersecurity awareness in companies is a significant yet challenging task, especially for new users who often struggle to adapt to these policies. However, Keepnet Labs significantly shortens and simplifies this process. In phishing scenarios, nearly 4 out of every 5 new users show vulnerabilities. However, with the awareness training and detailed reporting interfaces provided by Keepnet Labs, we can enroll these users in pre-existing training and exams on the platform, significantly improving their cybersecurity awareness in as little as one month. Observed reports show that success rates can exceed 80%. We have been using the Keepnet Labs platform for two years, and during this time, it has continuously evolved. We are happy to use a product that keeps improving.

Emre Cakir

CISO - Londonist UK

Barrier has witnessed first-hand the powerful impact this platform delivers to our customers. The value Keepnet brings to organisations is undeniable, from its comprehensive phishing simulations to its intelligent training modules and automated threat response, it's clear that this is a market-leading solution in human risk management. What truly sets Keepnet apart is how easy it becomes for organisations to adopt and maintain when delivered as a fully managed service. Our clients regularly tell us how effortless it is to integrate Keepnet into their operations with our support, and the results speak for themselves - measurable improvements in security posture, greater user awareness, and peace of mind knowing they're protected against human-driven threats. We’re proud to partner with Keepnet and confident in the business value it continues to deliver for organisations across every sector.

Ian McGowan

Managing Director -Barrier Networks

Nautilus faced ongoing ransomware threats, worsened by a long-tenure workforce with varying IT skills. With Keepnet’s cybersecurity awareness training and phishing simulations, we successfully transformed our security culture. Employee confidence in identifying cyber threats improved significantly, reporting speed increased by 97%, and clicking on malicious links decreased by 75%. The shift was challenging initially, but through continuous engagement, we built a resilient and security-conscious workforce.

Liam Hayes

Aurecon Executive Leadership - Nautilus International

Keep your organization safe. Amazing team of people who care about your success using their platform. Great communication. Quick responses. Helpful in finding answers.

Amanda Harris

Computer Science Teacher - Middleton School District

See How Keepnet Can Help Your Organization

As you’ve seen throughout this blog, through both real-world case studies and direct testimonials from decision-makers, security awareness training works. It reduces human error, speeds up threat detection, and turns employees into proactive defenders, not passive risk factors.

Whether you’re combating phishing, quishing, smishing, or voice scams, Keepnet’s behavior-based approach transforms cybersecurity from a one-time event into a sustainable culture of vigilance.

From multinational enterprises like Tiryaki to specialist partners like Distology and Computacenter, our platform delivers measurable improvements—from 75% fewer malicious clicks to 97% faster incident reporting. And it’s not just about tools—it’s about empowering people with the knowledge and confidence to make the right call under pressure.

Editor's note: This article was updated on May 23, 2025.

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Simulate phishing, vishing, smishing, and QR attacks

Reduce your human risk score by up to 90%

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does security awareness training lead to long-term behavior change?

Yes. Effective programs go beyond check-the-box training to create lasting behavioral shifts. As shown in the blog, organizations that use simulations and microlearning regularly see sustained drops in risky actions, even months after initial training. Ongoing, behavior-based reinforcement is key to ensuring these changes stick.

How quickly can organizations see measurable results from training?

Most organizations observe significant improvements within the first 3 to 6 months. For example, malicious-click rates can drop by over 80%, and reporting speeds can increase dramatically. The speed of improvement depends on the training frequency, content relevance, and leadership involvement.

Is security awareness training effective across different industries and geographies?

Yes. The blog highlights success stories from finance, telecom, retail, hospitality, and maritime sectors across Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Regardless of industry or location, training that is localized, role-specific, and culturally adapted proves effective in reducing human-related risks.

Can security awareness training really stop real-world attacks?

Absolutely. The blog details how trained employees recognized and reported real phishing, vishing, and QR-based malware attempts—often before any data was compromised. When employees are prepared, they become the first line of defense, shortening attacker dwell time and preventing breaches.

How does security awareness training impact threat detection and response times?

Security awareness training significantly improves both detection and response. Trained employees are more likely to report suspicious activity, turning them into early-warning sensors. This reduces attacker dwell time from days to minutes, allowing SOC teams to neutralize threats faster and more efficiently.