Cybersecurity Awareness Isn’t Enough: Here’s How to Turn It Into Action

Esteffan Coetzee
May 22
3 min read

Here’s the dirty little secret about cybersecurity awareness training: just knowing about threats doesn’t protect you.

It’s like knowing fast food is bad for you but still inhaling a cheeseburger at 2 AM. Awareness is step one, sure, but action? That’s where the magic happens.

And yet, so many training programmes stop at “awareness.” They’ll tell you phishing emails exist and hackers are out there, but they won’t actually show you how to stop an attack. It’s like teaching someone what a shark looks like but forgetting to mention, “Hey, maybe don’t swim toward it.”

At Goldphish, we see this all the time. Businesses think they’ve done their part by ticking the “training completed” box. But without the right approach, it’s all noise. So, how do you make cybersecurity awareness stick and—more importantly—turn it into action?

1. Make It Stick 🧠

Let’s be real: nobody remembers anything from a 45-minute slideshow filled with jargon and pie charts. If you want your team to take cybersecurity seriously, the training needs to feel personal.

People need to see how cyber threats impact them—their bank accounts, their personal data, and even their jobs. Because when it’s personal, it matters.

Want to make it stick? Use real stories and relatable examples. Teach them how an innocent click on a fake invoice can lead to a ransomware attack. Show them how their social media habits could be giving hackers everything they need to impersonate them. And yes, sprinkle in a little humour. Nobody learns from death-by-PowerPoint.

2. Make It Simple 👌

Awareness isn’t enough. If you want your team to act, you need to guide them. Give them clear, practical steps they can follow to stay secure.

Here’s where to start:

Spot phishing emails. Teach them to hover over links, verify sender addresses, and avoid clicking on anything that screams “urgent.”
Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). It’s easy to set up and stops hackers in their tracks. Make sure they enable it on email, payroll, and anything sensitive.
Secure passwords. Encourage the use of password managers—because “password123” isn’t cutting it anymore.
Identify risky websites. Teach them to look for weird URLs, bad grammar, and missing security indicators (like HTTPS).

Training without actionable steps is just noise. Equip your team with tools and habits they can use daily.

3. Make It Repeatable 👩🏻‍💻

Here’s the thing about cybersecurity: it’s not a one-and-done deal. Threats evolve. Hackers get smarter. And people forget.

One-time training won’t cut it. If you want the knowledge to stick, you must make it a habit. Regular, bite-sized lessons are far more effective than an annual lecture everyone tunes out.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Short monthly refreshers, phishing simulations, or even a quick video can keep cybersecurity top-of-mind without overwhelming your team.

Why Awareness Without Action is Useless

Awareness without action is like buying a gym membership but never showing up. You know what you should do, but nothing changes until you actually do it.

Cybersecurity isn’t just about knowing the risks—it’s about creating a culture where everyone knows their role in protecting the business. Start with these three principles: make it stick, make it simple, and make it repeatable.

And if you’re not sure where to start? Let’s chat. At Goldphish, we’ve seen it all—and we know how to make cybersecurity training that works. No jargon. No fluff. Just real solutions for real businesses. 👊