What is cyber security awareness training?
It is structured training that reduces the risk created by people: recognising phishing and social engineering, authenticating safely, handling sensitive data correctly, and reporting suspected attacks. Effective awareness training is an ongoing programme combining education with realistic phishing simulation and measurement, not a single annual video.
How does the phishing simulation work?
We use Attack Simulation Training in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to run realistic simulated phishing campaigns against your own environment. Users who interact with a simulation are automatically assigned short, targeted training. Over repeated campaigns you can see click-rate fall and report-rate rise, which is the behaviour change that actually reduces risk.
Do we need a separate platform to run this?
Usually not. Attack Simulation Training is part of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, which is included with Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5. If you already hold that entitlement, you can run a full simulation and training programme without licensing a third-party awareness tool. We confirm your licensing position before recommending an approach.
How does awareness training fit into our wider security posture?
People are a primary attack surface, so awareness sits alongside technical controls rather than replacing them. It complements identity hardening, email protection and the broader control set. Our Microsoft Security page covers the technical controls, and the Essential Eight page covers the maturity model many organisations align to; awareness training addresses the human layer across all of them.
Can the training be tailored to specific roles?
Yes. Finance teams, executives, privileged administrators and new starters are targeted differently by attackers, so they receive content matched to their risk. Simulation difficulty is also calibrated by role rather than sending everyone the same generic email.
How do you measure whether the training is working?
We baseline with an initial simulation, then track click-rate, report-rate and training-completion across repeat campaigns. The trend over time is the measure that matters, and it gives leadership and auditors a defensible picture of human risk rather than an attendance record.