You’re probably familiar with traditional cyber security training – usually consisting of annual or semi-annual sessions that involve long, tedious courses or one-off seminars designed to educate employees about potential threats like phishing, malware, and password security. While these programs have been the norm for many years (and they certainly have their place) they are increasingly being recognised as insufficient for truly educating employees on cyber security.
As the threat landscape grows ever more aggressive in 2025 and beyond, businesses should be considering how they can take their cyber security training further. So, what is security awareness as opposed to traditional training, and how could it benefit your business?
What is Cyber Awareness Training and How is It Different?
Ultimately, traditional cyber security training sucks. You’ll already know why educating employees on cyber security is important, but research shows typical traditional training sessions often leave employees confused and disengaged; Any learnings are forgotten about almost immediately after it finishes.
To improve employee engagement and ongoing awareness of threats, have you considered a cyber awareness solution for active measuring?
Security Awareness Solutions
Redflags® from ThinkCyber is a modern, scientifically-backed approach to cyber security awareness that’s proven to make a real difference in employee engagement and behaviour. Instead of obliging employees to sit through lengthy, tedious courses, Redflags® leverages behavioural science to create a more engaging, effective, and ongoing experience that keeps security front of mind at all times.
With limited ROI from out of the box, traditional training, security awareness aims to do the opposite of this by providing transparent, measurable results. At ThinkCyber our approach to security awareness training is to focus on nudge theory, a non-invasive and integrated approach to training. Think of it as a friendly tap on the shoulder for people before they do something risky – from clicking on a dodgy link to sharing a sensitive file outside the business.
Measuring ROI
On average, organisations can expect to invest between £25 and £100 per employee annually for comprehensive security training, according to UK Cyber Security. However, traditional training is unable to measure the ROI of this. With little visibility over risky behaviours, you won’t be able to accurately measure what you’re getting back from your training.With measurable security awareness training, you can analyse real change in cyber security behaviours. With Redflags® , you can measure engagement to give you the exact compliance data you need, as well as unique visibility of staff risky behaviours.
Rather than treating cyber security training as a once-a-year event, Redflags® integrates ongoing, real-time security awareness directly into employees’ daily workflows. This continuous, in-the-moment engagement keeps security top of mind and empowers employees to act when it matters most.
Engagement with Real-World Relevance
Using real-life examples and real-time interventions, Redflags® helps employees understand the relevance of cyber security in their personal and professional lives. This approach not only helps employees better understand the risks they face but also ensures they are more likely to act on the knowledge they gain.
By applying proven theories of human behaviour, Redflags® delivers content in a way that maximises engagement, making it easier to educate employees on cyber security and to retain that information. Rather than simply instructing employees on what to do, our solution nudges them to behave securely at the point of risk, guiding them through safe practices in real-time. This continuous reinforcement is far more effective than periodic training sessions that fail to capitalise on the immediacy of the threat landscape.
The Impact of Security Awareness
So, why is security awareness training so important and what can you expect from it? With robust security awareness solutions, you can analyse measurable improvements in employee engagement and risk. Organisations using Redflags® have seen measurable improvements in employee engagement and a significant reduction in cyber security incidents.
If you’re looking to strengthen your organisation’s cyber defences in 2025 and beyond, please book a demo to discover what Redflags® can do for you.