# What is Security Awareness Training?

> Security awareness training is the planned learning activity that helps people recognize security and privacy risks, make safer decisions, and follow the organization’s reporting and response procedures.

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## Content

The familiar phrase combines related but distinct ideas: awareness attracts attention and motivates safer behavior, while training develops knowledge and skills for particular tasks or roles.

An effective program is continuous, relevant to actual work, and connected to the organization’s risks and controls. It gives people practical actions they can take and makes the secure action easy — for example, a clear method to report a suspicious message or independently verify a payment-detail change.

### Key points

- **Program design:** Define target audiences, risk-based learning objectives, delivery methods, owners, refresh cycles, and accessible alternatives.
- **Useful topics:** Phishing and fraud, account protection, data handling, remote work, physical security, incident reporting, and role-specific responsibilities.
- **Practice and reinforcement:** Use short reminders, realistic exercises, manager communication, and timely lessons from incidents — not only an annual course.
- **Outcome measurement:** Assess knowledge, reporting behavior, process use, and risk reduction; do not treat completion rates or simulated-phishing clicks as the whole result.
- **Important limitation:** Training cannot make every person detect every deception. Technical and business-process controls must anticipate mistakes, manipulation, fatigue, and compromised accounts.

### Related terms

[Phishing](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/phishing/>) · [Business email compromise (BEC)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/business-email-compromise/>) · [Social engineering](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/social-engineering/>) · [NIS2 Directive](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/nis2-directive/>) · [Cyber range](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/cyber-range/>) · [Hacking and ethical hacking](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/hacking-and-ethical-hacking/>)

### Sources

[NIST SP 800-50r1: Building a Cybersecurity and Privacy Learning Program](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/50/r1/final) · [CISA: Recognize and Report Phishing](https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/recognize-and-report-phishing)

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