Why a Security Champion Program Is a Game-Changer

As organizations grow more complex and digitally interconnected, cybersecurity can no longer remain the sole responsibility of a centralized team. Security decisions are increasingly distributed—across departments, roles, and everyday workflows.

That shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity. According to Infosecurity Magazine, human error contributed to 95% of data breaches in 2024, driven largely by insider threats, credential misuse, and user-driven mistakes. This highlights the urgent need for a broader, organization-wide security culture—one that empowers every team member to play an active role.

A Security Champion Program supports this by turning engaged employees into local cybersecurity advocates. These champions help promote secure behaviors, identify risks early, and embed security into the rhythm of daily operations.

In this blog, we’ll guide you through the key steps to build and scale an effective security champion program—from setting goals and selecting champions to training, incentivizing, rolling out, and measuring success.

What Is a Security Champion Program?

A Security Champion Program is a structured initiative that enlists non-security employees—typically from development, operations, or business teams—to act as decentralized cybersecurity advocates within their respective departments. These champions serve as the “first responders” and local influencers who help embed security thinking into day-to-day operations.

Unlike centralized security teams that can become overwhelmed or disconnected from daily workflows, security champions offer a scalable and human-centric approach to cybersecurity. They act as bridges between technical teams and security leadership, helping to translate high-level policies into practical actions.

How to Build a Security Champion Program

Building a Security Champion Program isn’t just about assigning titles—it’s about creating a sustainable framework that embeds cybersecurity into the fabric of your organization. To do this effectively, you need a structured, step-by-step approach that aligns with business goals, empowers the right people, delivers ongoing training, and measures real impact.

In this section, we’ll walk through the essential steps to design, launch, and scale a successful program—based on Gartner’s recent research and best practices.

1. Define the Goals of a Security Champion Program

The foundation of a successful Security Champion Program lies in aligning its goals with both cybersecurity priorities and business outcomes. This isn’t just a security initiative—it’s a business enabler.

Work closely with IT and business leaders to identify where champions can reduce friction, speed up delivery, and improve risk ownership. Focus on real, measurable outcomes like fewer vulnerabilities, faster incident resolution, or better phishing detection at the team level.

At Keepnet, we’ve seen the most impact when organizations empower champions to drive change—not just repeat policies. Setting shared goals earns buy-in and ensures the program supports both security and business performance.

Helpful tool for this phase:

• Phishing Simulator: Use phishing simulations to identify which departments are most at risk. These insights help define specific, measurable goals for your program—like reducing click rates or increasing phishing report rates—so your champions can focus on areas that matter most.

2. Clarify the Responsibilities of Security Champions

Once your program goals are defined, it’s essential to outline the specific responsibilities of security champions. Their role is not just to support cybersecurity but to integrate it into the day-to-day work of their teams.

Responsibilities should be tailored to each champion’s role and technical background. For example:

• Awareness Champions promote phishing awareness, support security campaigns, and guide employees on safe behaviors.
• Developer Champions embed secure coding practices, assist with threat modeling, and flag vulnerabilities early.
• DevSecOps Champions help streamline secure deployment, run security scans, and ensure infrastructure configurations align with best practices.

Champions should start with achievable tasks—like supporting phishing simulations or answering basic security queries. As their confidence and skills grow, they can take on more strategic roles, such as conducting peer training, influencing secure design decisions, or advising on policy improvements.

Security champions should also serve as a bridge between teams and the security function—offering feedback, escalating concerns, and co-creating solutions. Giving them this autonomy encourages ownership and fosters a security-first culture across the organization.

3. Select Security Champions: Criteria and Pitfalls

Selecting the right champions is critical. Focus on individuals who are curious about security, trusted by peers, and able to influence team behavior—not just those with strong technical skills.

Avoid the common mistake of nominating only top developers. While skilled, they’re often too busy or not fully committed. Instead, invite both nominations and volunteers—those who show genuine interest and leadership potential often make the most impactful champions.

Be mindful of workload. Champions need time and space to engage, not just another task piled onto their day. Also, avoid treating them as policy messengers. Give them a voice in shaping and improving security practices.

Choosing champions with the right mindset—rather than just technical expertise—sets your program up for long-term success.

For a practical look at how roles like security champions influence behavior and reduce risks across teams, read the Keepnet article: The Role of Cybersecurity Ambassadors in Improving Enterprise Security Posture

4. Build and Customize Training for Champions

Effective training is critical for champions to confidently guide their teams on secure practices. It should be structured, continuous, and tailored to their evolving roles.

Here’s how to build it right:

• Start with a baseline curriculum: Cover essentials like phishing awareness, secure coding, threat modeling, and when to escalate risks.
• Use diverse training formats: Blend e-learning, interactive labs, peer workshops, and shadowing sessions to match different learning styles and availability.
• Gather input from champions: Survey or hold focus groups to understand their learning needs and areas of uncertainty. This keeps the training relevant and champion-driven.
• Enable informal learning: Encourage champions to lead lunch-and-learns, share insights in chat groups, or co-facilitate training sessions with security teams.
• Keep it continuous: Training shouldn’t stop at onboarding. Update content regularly and support champions as they take on more advanced responsibilities.

Well-trained champions become trusted security advocates, capable of shifting team behaviors and strengthening your organization’s security culture.

Check out Keepnet’s Free Security Awareness Training — built around role-based content to help you train champions and employees with precision.

5. Roll Out and Communicate the Program

How you launch your Security Champion Program matters just as much as what it includes. Start small with a pilot—such as an IT or development team—to test your approach and show early results. These quick wins help prove the value of the program before rolling it out to the rest of the organization.

Involve managers and team leads from the beginning. Help them understand that champions are there to support secure work, not slow it down. Their backing is key to giving champions the time and space to succeed.

Use clear, simple messaging across emails, internal portals, and leadership updates to explain the program's purpose, how it works, and how each team benefits. Give managers talking points so they can explain it to their teams easily.

Finally, introduce your champions publicly. A visible, positive launch helps everyone understand their role and encourages others to get involved.

6. Sustain Engagement with Incentives and Culture

​​Launching a Security Champion Program is only the beginning—keeping champions engaged over time is where real impact happens. According to Gartner, long-term success depends on recognizing champions, aligning the role with career growth, and embedding security into team culture.

To maintain momentum, offer meaningful incentives. These can include digital badges, recognition in team meetings, training opportunities, mentorship, or even pathways to formal security roles. What matters most is that the rewards feel relevant and valuable to the champions themselves.

It's equally important to build a sense of community. Create regular touchpoints like monthly syncs, peer-led workshops, or internal chat groups where champions can share challenges, tips, and success stories. This fosters a shared purpose and keeps learning ongoing.

Security should also become part of the team's identity—not a side task. Reinforce this by making champion contributions visible to leadership and integrating their efforts into team goals.

When champions feel supported, valued, and connected, they stay engaged—and that’s what builds a lasting security culture.

To dive deeper, read the Keepnet article on Building a Security-Conscious Corporate Culture: A Roadmap for Success

7. Measure, Optimize, and Scale the Program

To keep your Security Champion Program effective, you need to measure progress and adapt as it grows. According to Gartner, the most successful programs track both security and business outcomes to stay aligned and impactful.

Start with simple, outcome-focused metrics—such as reduced incident rates, faster response times, increased phishing reporting, or champion engagement in training sessions. Pair this with regular feedback from both champions and their teams to understand what’s working and what needs refining.

Start with simple, outcome-focused metrics—such as reduced incident rates, faster response times, increased phishing reporting, or champion engagement in training sessions. Pair this with regular feedback from both champions and their teams to understand what’s working and what needs refining.

Use those insights to fine-tune your training, adjust responsibilities, and provide targeted support. Recognize top performers to keep motivation high, and gradually expand the program across other departments once you’ve built a stable foundation.

A champion program that’s continuously measured and improved doesn’t just scale—it gets stronger with each cycle.

For more guidance, read the Keepnet article on Outcome-Driven Metrics for Security Awareness Training

Turn Champions into Cyber Influencers

Security champions aren’t just helpers—they’re culture-shapers. When supported with the right goals, training, and recognition, they become trusted influencers who embed security into everyday work.

Measuring their impact and giving them the tools to lead makes the program stronger over time.

The Keepnet Human Risk Management Platform empowers organizations to turn champions into cybersecurity leaders with AI-driven phishing simulations, adaptive training, and automated response tools. It helps eliminate human-driven threats and builds lasting security from the inside out.