You don’t need us to tell you that cyber threats are getting more sophisticated by the day (and perhaps even more rapid than that). With over half of businesses in the UK alone reporting a cyber breach in the past year, organisations understand the need for cyber security training. However, traditional cyber training doesn’t seem to be keeping up with the demands of threats in today’s landscape, evidenced by growing cyber breaches.
These days, cyber threats are evolving faster than most organisations can adapt; traditional, once-a-year security training simply doesn’t cut it anymore. Employees are often disengaged by generic, one-size-fits-all content, and once the training is completed, the knowledge often fades quicker than a spammy link can be clicked. As the data shows, this lack of effective training is directly contributing to an increase in cyber breaches.
If you know you need a more modern approach to cyber awareness training, let’s get into what your provider should be offering your organisation.
1. Real-Time, Behavior-Based Interventions
Traditional training often feels disconnected from the real-world actions that actually lead to breaches. The key to changing employee behaviour lies in real-time, behaviour-based interventions. With tools like ThinkCyber, training goes beyond theory by providing on-the-spot nudges when risky behaviour occurs. If an employee is about to click on a phishing link or send sensitive information to the wrong recipient, real-time interventions help guide them in the right direction, preventing incidents before they happen.
2. Engaging and Relevant Content
Cyber security awareness needs to feel relevant to employees’ day-to-day activities to be measurably effective. ThinkCyber’s approach focuses on delivering real-world scenarios that connect with employees' personal and professional lives, making them more likely to engage and retain the material. If security training isn’t engaging, it’s easy to dismiss, and that’s where traditional training falls short. When employees see how cyber security risks affect them directly, they are more invested in taking the necessary precautions.
3. Ongoing, Drip-Fed Content
Security threats don’t take breaks, and neither should your training. Rather than loading employees up with overwhelming amounts of information during a single session, modern training programs use a "little and often" approach. By sending bite-sized, digestible security content directly to employees' desktops on a regular basis, ThinkCyber ensures that cyber security remains top-of-mind without overloading anyone. Consistent exposure to security best practices means employees are more likely to remember and apply what they’ve learned. Research shows that this way of growing awareness and education can lead to a huge uplift in employee engagement. With ThinkCyber, Gamma has achieved enviable voluntary engagement rates of over 85% across the business for over a year.
4. Reinforcement and Adaptive Training
To ensure your business is robust against threats 365 days a year, cyber awareness reinforcement and adaptability are key. Instead of relying on static, one-off training sessions, ThinkCyber reinforces key lessons through regular reminders and updates, ensuring that employees are always up to date on the latest threats. Adaptive training means your program can shift focus based on new risks, emerging patterns, and specific behaviours that need attention, keeping your training relevant and impactful.
5. Measurability
Like with most aspects of your business, ROI is key. Having a modern cyber awareness program should be as measurable as possible, so you can track if it’s working. With ThinkCyber, you can track and analyse the effectiveness of your cyber security training to see how employees are engaging with the content, identifying risky behaviours in real-time, and measuring improvements over time.
Are your team members applying what they’ve learned? Are their behaviours improving? The ability to measure these results helps you make data-driven decisions and adjust your training efforts to ensure maximum impact. Without these insights, you can’t know whether your training is truly preventing breaches or if it needs to be refined.
By incorporating real-time interventions, engaging content, ongoing updates, personalised feedback, and adaptive training, your team will be better equipped to face today’s cyber security challenges head-on. In an environment where the risks are higher than ever, it may be time to modernise your approach to security training.
Active Measuring with ThinkCyber
Active measuring represents a more proactive, dynamic, and effective way to tackle cyber security, which is why leading businesses like Dr Martens have adopted ThinkCyber into their everyday work.
To find out about how active measuring and modern cyber awareness training can transform your organisation’s security, book a free demo today.