Create a People-Centric Security Awareness Culture

Create a People-Centric Security Awareness Culture | Cyber Security Training Session

The most effective way to prevent people-centric security attacks is to create a truly people-centric security awareness culture. This guide explores how to achieve it and why empowering your workforce is essential for modern cyber resilience.

Why People Are at the Heart of Cyber Security

A strong organisation is built on strong people. Employees keep operations running, deliver quality work, and uphold trust. But cybercriminals are people-centric too — and they target human behaviour as their primary attack vector.

In around 85% of cyber attacks, a human action is required for the attack to succeed, whether that’s clicking a link, downloading a malicious attachment, or entering credentials into a spoofed website.

What Exactly Is a People-Centric Security Awareness Culture?

Human behaviour is highly susceptible to manipulation, leading to ransomware, data breaches, and significant operational disruption. Our post “Social Engineering: Hacking the Human” highlights how cybercriminals exploit predictable behavioural patterns. By breaking negative behaviours and replacing them with positive, security-first habits, organisations can build a sustainable people-centric security awareness culture.

When employees understand scam tactics and feel confident recognising cyber threats, they become your strongest defence. With the right training approach, this awareness evolves into a long-lasting security-first mindset across the business.

The Components of a People-Centric Security Awareness Culture

A culture represents shared norms, beliefs, and behaviours that shape how a group operates. Like any thriving community, an organisation can intentionally build a culture that makes life easier and safer for its members — in this case, by embedding strong security practices.

However, awareness alone is not enough. A true people-centric security culture requires:

Establishing a baseline of expected behaviours to shape your security awareness programme.
Choosing engaging, personalised cyber security training that encourages positive behaviour change.
Maintaining the culture with regular Security Awareness Training sessions.
Empowering staff through simple, non-punitive security incident reporting.

Set Expectations

Build a baseline of expected behaviours.

Understanding your current security posture is the first step. Quantitative data — such as initial phishing simulation results — combined with qualitative input from surveys and discussions, helps identify behavioural gaps. This intelligence feeds directly into a tailored Security Awareness Training programme, allowing you to target high-risk areas and build clear behavioural expectations across teams. With a clearly communicated baseline and consistent reinforcement, employees gain a practical roadmap towards a security-first culture.

Learn Socially

People learn best together.

Culture thrives through social interaction. Social learning — observing peers, sharing stories, and modelling scenarios — is one of the most effective ways to influence behaviour. Folktales, for example, have been used for centuries to teach caution and good judgement.

Security awareness works the same way. Employees benefit from collaborative, interactive formats such as gamified modules, scenario-based learning, and expert-led content. This aligns with “prestige-biased social learning”, where people learn complex concepts more effectively from perceived experts.

Sustain Positive Security Behaviour

Consistency keeps security front of mind.

Cyber threats evolve constantly, which means Security Awareness Training must be ongoing. Regular updates ensure:

Your training reflects the latest attack techniques.
Security remains top of mind for employees.

Sustained training reinforces long-term behaviour change and helps maintain a resilient security culture.

Value Input from Employees

Security is everyone’s responsibility — without fear or blame.

A PwC study revealed that nearly three-quarters of employees fear punishment for reporting security incidents. This fear undermines security and discourages transparency.

Instead of blaming mistakes such as clicking a phishing link, use them as teachable moments. Make incident reporting easy and accessible, and clearly illustrate how employee reports help strengthen defences.

Cultivate a People-Centric Security Culture

Building a people-centric security awareness culture takes time, but the right structures accelerate progress. With targeted training, strong communication, and supportive leadership, employees naturally develop proactive and resilient security habits. Explore our Human Risk Management Solutions to your organisation’s culture of cyber security resilience:

FAQs on Fostering a Strong Security Awareness Culture

What is a people-centric security awareness culture?

It’s a workplace environment where employees understand cyber risks, adopt secure behaviours, and feel empowered to report incidents without fear.

Why do cybercriminals target people?

People are often the easiest way into an organisation. Human error is involved in most cyber attacks, making employees a primary target.

How often should Security Awareness Training be delivered?

Training should be ongoing, with regular updates that reflect emerging threats and reinforce long-term behaviour change.

What role does social learning play in security awareness?

Social learning helps employees absorb information through shared experiences, scenarios, and expert guidance, making training more effective.

How can organisations reduce fear around reporting security incidents?

By adopting a no-blame culture, simplifying reporting processes, and highlighting how reports contribute to stronger cyber defences.

What tools support a people-centric security awareness strategy?

Automated training platforms, phishing simulations, analytics tools, and compliance management systems all support behaviour-driven security cultures.