Smart solutions
Five tips to make your team more cyber aware
Cyber criminals prey on human behaviour, a lack of knowledge, and inconsistent security practices to give them the best chance of success. Deploying security awareness training can help to strengthen your defences and mitigate potential weaknesses.
September 03, 2025
5 minutes
Smart solutions
Five tips to make your team more cyber aware
Cyber criminals prey on human behaviour, a lack of knowledge, and inconsistent security practices to give them the best chance of success. Deploying security awareness training can help to strengthen your defences and mitigate potential weaknesses.
September 03, 2025
5 minutes
Your employees are your ‘human firewall’, helping to protect your business from cyber crime. Make sure you understand the types of cyber threats and consider ways to build awareness amongst your teams.
How you approach security will influence your team, too. If you make it a priority and talk about it openly, your employees will better understand how important it is to the business.
Explore specialist training options to make sure your employees are regularly updated on the latest security information and help understand their responsibilities in keeping the company safe.
Make sure you have a good idea of the types of cyber attack your business could face, as well as the damage they can inflict.
The most common kinds are:
- Phishing: sometimes known as social engineering, where a scammer will deceive someone into revealing sensitive information, usually by email, text (smishing) or phone (vishing).
- Malware: malicious software, which can damage or disable your systems or data, or enable a criminal to access your systems.
- Insider threats: employees who may leak information, often because of human error.
Leading by example is one of the most important steps to take if you want your employees to take cyber security seriously.
The business leader’s attitude towards security will influence how everyone else behaves, so make it a key attribute of how you run your company. Use strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and keep your devices updated to show you’re committed.
Talk frequently and openly about cyber security, and make it a regular part of team discussions. Share examples of threats and encourage reporting of suspicious activity.
Stress that strong cyber security is an essential aspect of the business and that it’s everyone’s responsibility, not just an IT problem. Keep your teams engaged by involving them in planning for incidents.
3. Make vigilance part of your company culture
To create and maintain an awareness of the importance of security, use simple, consistent messages. Make it clear that cyber security is something the business takes seriously and therefore it’s down to every employee to uphold.
Some effective ways of getting the message across, and keeping it top of mind, are:
- Put posters around the office (and change them regularly, so they still get noticed).
- Send email reminders (but not too frequently, or people will just ignore them).
- Give out quick and easy security tips in team meetings.
And test your team’s awareness and knowledge on a regular basis. Best practice is to give your team cyber security training with simulated phishing attacks to help employees make a habit of thinking twice before clicking on an unfamiliar link.
4. Provide regular cyber security training
Offering regular training on cyber security at work is the most efficient way to make sure your team knows what to do.
By investing in a quality cyber awareness solution, you can provide mandatory security training for all employees, and role-based training for people in specific functions, such as finance, sales or HR.
A specialist solution also allows you to incorporate quizzes or gamification techniques, which makes the security training experience more engaging and memorable for your teams.
Professional security training should cover the following fundamentals:
- How to keep devices secure. This should include having up-to-date anti-virus software, plus always updating operating systems and software, as the most recent versions will be the most secure.
- Data handling, understanding the sensitivity of the information they work with, how to protect it, and the serious consequences of it falling into the wrong hands.
- Spotting the scammers. How to spot and stay alert to phishing attacks, which are the most common kind of threat businesses face.
- Reporting. Who to tell if they spot something suspicious, such as their manager, the IT team and Action Fraud. You should also have simple and clear policies in place that explain the importance of security and the related actions you expect from your employees. Don’t forget to make sure everyone has read and understood them.
5. Focus on the benefits
Cyber attacks are common and potentially very damaging when they’re successful. By working with a trusted security partner, you can help ensure that your team’s time and attention remains focused on their jobs.
Having a cyber-aware team can be a huge benefit.
It can mean:
- Reduced risk of data breaches or damage to your business activities.
- Lower insurance premiums.
- Improved customer trust.
- Remaining compliant with the law, such as GDPR.
Key takeaways on cyber awareness
If you only remember three things, make them:
- Understand the cyber threats and how attackers might try to infiltrate your business.
- Lead by example. Your attitude to cyber security will influence your employees.
- Embed security into your company culture. Make it visible in the office with posters, mention it in meetings and carry out regular, up-to-date training.
Improving your team’s awareness of cyber security will give you and them peace of mind and keep your business running smoothly.
Security Awareness Training
Unlock the power of your human firewall and empower employees to become your first line of defence against cyber security threats with Security Awareness Training from BT. Developed by a team of dedicated experts who help protect our networks from over 6,500 potential attacks daily and have been safeguarding the UK’s critical national infrastructure for over 70 years.
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