Imagine that an employee clicks on an email that looks almost exactly like one from the CEO, only to find out that they just exposed sensitive company information. This is where a security awareness trainer comes into play. A security awareness trainer is a role within a company that develops and trains members of an organization on cybersecurity policies. This paper examines the role of a security awareness trainer in a modern cybersecurity environment. 

One key responsibility of a security awareness trainer is developing a training program. In the context of cybersecurity, this could involve teaching company members how to spot fake emails and how to make secure passwords. This doesn’t only apply to employees but also to executives and even the CEO. They can use many methods to complete this, like real-world scenarios or show simulations. Educational theory is the associated social science, applied adult learned methods like experimental learning, for example, using simulation to show what could happen if someone did click on an email that was a phishing attempt they could see the repercussions and potential damage that could be done. This can be tailored to every level of a company, like showing employees how their systems will get shut down and they’ll lose all data, or for an executive show how getting their data stolen will make them lose money and even potential business opportunities. Another way to develop a training program is an awareness campaign. 

In an awareness campaign, you can organize workshops and webinars. You can talk about subjects like renewing passwords and device usage. Making a company where they should and shouldn’t use devices provides a greater level of security, for example using a company laptop on open public wifi versus using the same laptop on a secure network at home. In this awareness campaign, the goal should be to make the company aware of criminal behavior and how they will try to use open wifi to get onto your computer. 

Staying up-to-date on cyber threats is also another big role of a security awareness trainer. Being able to understand the sociology behind threats means that you understand social dynamics, and how a group of hackers might attack a company from different angles, like phishing or brute force attacks. Being up to date on attack methods also means understanding criminology, understanding attackers’ behaviors, and how they change with the development of new technology. 

The last key responsibility of a security awareness trainer is working with departments within the company. For example, working with the IT department, using them to gain technical awareness about specific security risks. This is important as being up to date with recent vulnerabilities to educate employees on, or what’s the most common threat that employees face. Another example is working with the HR department, being able to integrate education into new employees’ training programs would help benefit the company as the new employees will be up to date on policies within the company.

As cyber threats continue to use human vulnerabilities, the role of security awareness trainers has become irreplaceable in guarding an organization’s cyberspace. By using insights from sociology, criminology, and education, security awareness trainers can better develop training programs that can turn employees into a first line of defense against cyber threats.