Industry View

Industry View: Security Training With Style

Perimeter eSecurity VP Jason Miceli offers some tips on how to give employees a true understanding of security

By Jason Miceli

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Relevance: It's extremely important to show the relevance of your program if you expect users to care about its benefits - they must be able to identify with the underlying story and associate its meaning with their own experience. Why is this important? You need to demonstrate the value of the training program. Your job is to help create in your employees a desire to go through the effort of becoming properly trained and certified. If they see the value and relate to what they read and learn, they will go beyond what is necessary to pass the test. To ensure this information sinks in and that employees truly exercise best practices and security-conscious behavior, you need to help guide them to a place where they can "see the light."

As an example, rather than requiring your employees to become certified in a course called "Introduction to Information Security," why not say, "You're going to learn how to protect yourself from SPAM, viruses, and hackers - great information you'll be able to use here and at home." This approach helps to bring significant meaning and value to your training. Carry this concept through to all aspects of the LMS. In addition to ensuring technical accuracy on the tests, structure the information in a way that will resonate with your employees' daily workflows and lifestyles.

E-mails spread viruses.

Humor: The use of humor is essentially an extension of the previous topic, although it may be the most challenging yet beneficial factor to implement in a training program. As industry professionals you may find the world of Information Security really exciting, but it is likely your employees may not - the use of humor can be invaluable in addressing this issue. Even if employees can relate to the material and understand its relevance, they may still have a difficult time maintaining their focus as they proceed through page after page of content. Humor is a great way to help people stay engaged.

To what extent should humor be used? Since every environment has different tolerance levels for new and potentially radical ideas, there's no universal answer to this question. However, few would disagree that every organization can benefit from additional laughter. Imagine if the landing pages for your various training courses showed a picture of a well-known character with a funny saying. For example, a course containing information on anti-virus concepts could feature Neo from the film 'The Matrix' saying, "What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge viruses?" Another course could show television character Mr. T saying, "I pity the fool who doesn't use complex passwords!" These examples may seem trivial, but what you're starting to do is "market" this information to your employees. After applying the same level of creativity throughout the coursework you may find that your employees actually enjoy taking the courses, earning you a front-row seat at "memory stadium!"