Stop Trying to Turn Employees Into Cybersecurity Experts

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a good time to talk about security. But maybe we’ve been approaching employee cybersecurity training the wrong way.

Every October, businesses are reminded that employees play an important role in cybersecurity.

And they do.

Employees are told to recognize phishing emails, create strong passwords, use multi-factor authentication, watch for suspicious links, protect sensitive information, identify social engineering attempts and report anything unusual.

All good advice.

But somewhere along the way, we may have started expecting employees to become part-time cybersecurity experts.

They shouldn't have to be.

Your accountant's job is accounting. Your salesperson's job is selling. Your customer service team should be focused on customers.

The goal of cybersecurity awareness shouldn't be to teach every employee how to identify every possible cyberattack.

The goal should be to give people a few simple habits that make it much harder for attackers to succeed.

Cybercriminals Don't Need to Hack the Technology

Sometimes they just need to convince a person.

That's why so many cyberattacks involve social engineering.

An employee might receive an email that appears to come from their boss asking them to review a document.

Someone might call pretending to be from IT and say there's a problem with their Microsoft 365 account.

A text message might appear to come from a coworker asking them to click a link.

Or an employee could receive an unexpected multi-factor authentication request and approve it simply because they're busy.

The technology behind these attacks continues to improve, and artificial intelligence is making it easier to create messages that sound professional, personal and convincing.

But employees don't need to understand exactly how every attack works.

They need to know what to do when something doesn't feel right.

Teach Employees to Slow Down

Many successful cyberattacks have something in common:

Urgency.

"Your account will be disabled."

"I need this immediately."

"Approve this login."

"Pay this invoice today."

"Click here to verify your account."

Attackers don't want employees thinking too long about the request. They want them reacting.

One of the most valuable cybersecurity habits you can teach your team is incredibly simple:

When something feels unusual, stop and verify it.

If the CEO suddenly emails asking you to purchase gift cards, call them.

If someone claiming to be from IT asks for your password, contact your technology provider using a number you already know.

If you receive an unexpected login approval request, don't approve it.

That little pause can prevent a very big problem.

Make the Rules Easy to Remember

Employees don't need a 75-page cybersecurity manual sitting somewhere on the company network.

They need clear rules they can remember during a busy workday.

For example:

Never share your password.

Legitimate IT support shouldn't need you to tell them your password.

Never provide an MFA code to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.

Those codes are designed to prove that you are logging in.

Verify unusual requests another way.

If an email seems suspicious, call or message the person using contact information you already have.

Be careful with unexpected links and attachments.

Especially when the message creates urgency or asks you to sign in.

Report mistakes immediately.

This one matters more than many businesses realize.

Don't Make Employees Afraid to Admit a Mistake

Imagine an employee clicks a suspicious link.

A few seconds later, they realize something wasn't right.

What happens next?

If your company's cybersecurity culture makes employees afraid they'll be embarrassed, blamed or punished, they may wait before saying anything.

That's exactly what you don't want.

In cybersecurity, time matters.

The sooner your technology team knows something happened, the sooner they can investigate, reset credentials, isolate a computer or take other steps to limit the damage.

Employees should know exactly who to contact and should feel comfortable saying:

"I think I clicked something I shouldn't have."

That sentence could save the company from a much bigger problem.

Your Employees Shouldn't Be Your Only Line of Defense

There's another important side to this conversation.

Sometimes businesses put too much responsibility on employees.

Training matters, but even the best-trained employee can make a mistake.

People get distracted.

They're rushing between meetings.

They're answering email from their phones.

They're helping customers.

They're human.

That's why good cybersecurity uses layers of protection.

Multi-factor authentication, email security, endpoint protection, access controls, software updates, backups, monitoring and other safeguards should all work together.

Employee awareness is one of those layers.

It shouldn't be the entire strategy.

Cybersecurity Training Should Be Ongoing

Another common mistake is treating cybersecurity training as something employees complete once a year.

Watch the video.

Answer the questions.

Check the box.

See you next year.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals don't update their tactics annually.

Security awareness works better when it becomes part of the company culture.

That doesn't necessarily mean more hour-long training sessions.

Short reminders can often be more useful.

Talk about a suspicious email someone received.

Share examples of new scams.

Remind employees before holidays that fake shipping notifications tend to increase.

Discuss how AI is making impersonation attempts more convincing.

Make cybersecurity something employees hear about regularly rather than something they endure once a year.

Give People Permission to Question Technology

We spend a lot of time teaching employees to follow processes.

Cybersecurity sometimes requires the opposite.

Employees need permission to question something that doesn't make sense.

Why is Microsoft asking me to log in again?

Why is my boss asking me to change payment information?

Why is IT asking me for an MFA code?

Why does this vendor suddenly have a different bank account?

Why is this person asking me to download software?

That little voice saying "This seems strange" is valuable.

Teach employees to listen to it.

Chris's Advice

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, don't try to turn your employees into cybersecurity experts.

Give them something much more useful:

Simple rules. Good habits. Clear processes. And permission to ask for help.

Your employees don't need to understand every new cyber threat.

They need to understand that it's okay to stop, question and verify something before acting.

And when they make a mistake, they need to know exactly who to call.

Technology will continue to change.

Cybercriminals will continue to change their tactics.

But one of the most effective cybersecurity habits remains remarkably simple:

When something doesn't feel right, don't guess. Ask.

That may be one of the best security tools your business has.