Annual cybersecurity training isn’t working, so what’s the alternative?

Cybersecurity and compliance training programs are now big business. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the security awareness training market hit $5.6 billion in 2023 and is expected to surpass $10 billion in the next four years. This market boom is no surprise: cyber threats are rampant and large-scale attacks continue making headlines, most recently hitting the British Library, just to name a UK example, and disrupting their ability to function. All of this proves that every organization, no matter its size, is at risk of a breach.

Social engineering techniques, where an attacker targets the people who have access to systems (rather than the systems themselves) and manipulates them into handing over control, were the most popular malicious tactics in 2023. Businesses are therefore correct to recognize that people are a key vulnerability.