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Choose a security awareness platform by whether it helps employees practice the everyday behaviors your business needs—not by the number of lessons or phishing simulations it advertises. Start with phishing, passwords, multifactor authentication (MFA), software updates, protecting data on devices, and knowing how to report suspicious activity. Then check how the service fits your staff, measures participation, handles employee data, and compares with free CISA resources. Training reinforces security controls; it does not replace MFA, updates, backups, or encryption.
Start with the behaviors your employees need to learn
CISA’s Small and Medium-Sized Business Resources group phishing avoidance, passwords, MFA, and software updates among core cybersecurity topics. CISA also provides learning materials on protecting data stored on devices and using a password manager. Use those areas as a practical baseline, then adapt the curriculum to the work your staff actually do.
- Phishing and social engineering: Teach employees to question unexpected links, attachments, payment requests, and changes to account or vendor details.
- Passwords and password managers: Reinforce good password practices and show staff how to use the password manager your business supports.
- MFA: Explain how to use the company’s chosen authentication method and what to do if an unexpected approval request appears.
- Updates and device data: Help staff understand the update process and how to protect business information on the devices they use.
- Reporting: Make the reporting route clear—for example, how to flag a suspicious message or contact a manager or IT support.
Ask vendors whether lessons can be tailored to your business’s risks and reporting process. A large course catalog is less useful if employees cannot connect its advice to their daily work.
Check how learning and practice are delivered
Look for a format employees can complete and remember: concise lessons, recurring refreshers, and opportunities to practice recognizing suspicious requests. Ask whether lessons show staff how to verify an unusual request through a known contact method, rather than simply telling them to spot warning signs.
If phishing simulations are included, ask how they are designed and what happens after an employee clicks or reports a simulated message. The goal should be to teach and improve response—not to shame employees or make them afraid to report a genuine mistake.
CISA guidance titled Four Cybersecurity Essentials for SLTTs says, “Frequent, realistic testing helps employees build lasting awareness,” and recommends regular training and safe phishing reporting. That page is directed at state, local, tribal, and territorial organizations, not specifically small businesses; its advice is useful context, not a small-business rule or a universal training schedule.
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Evaluate reporting and administration for a small team
A platform should make it practical to see who completed training and where follow-up may be useful, without creating more administration than a small team can sustain. Ask vendors to demonstrate the reporting views and explain what measures are available. Completion, practice, and reporting are operational indicators; a simulation score alone does not establish that your business is safer or predict fewer incidents.
Also check the day-to-day setup directly with each provider:
- How employees are enrolled and reminded to complete lessons.
- Whether the service supports the languages and accessibility needs of your workforce.
- What support is available when administrators or employees have trouble.
- Whether it works with your company’s email and identity setup.
- How much time routine administration is likely to take.
These capabilities vary by vendor, so request a demonstration or written answers rather than assuming a feature is included.
Ask how employee information and simulations are handled
Before uploading employee information or enabling simulations, ask the vendor:
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- What employee data the platform collects and why.
- Where that data is stored and how long it is retained.
- Who at your company and at the vendor can access it.
- Whether simulation results are visible to managers, and how they are intended to be used.
- What the full cost is for your actual number of employees and the features you need.
Review the answers and terms against your company’s privacy and security requirements. Do not assume that a low starting price covers the seats, support, or capabilities your business needs.
Compare paid platforms with free CISA materials
CISA provides free printable fact sheets and online learning resources for small and medium-sized businesses through its business resources page. Its 2024 Playbook for Strengthening Cybersecurity in Federal Grant Programs also lists SANS Security Awareness Training for end users and SANS Security Awareness Phishing Tools as fee-based resources. That listing establishes examples of paid offerings, not a ranking, endorsement, or current comparison of their features or terms.
A paid service may be worth considering if it provides administration, recurring delivery, practice, or reporting your team cannot manage effectively with free materials. If your staff can deliver and track suitable training internally, a paid platform may not be necessary. Compare the actual vendor’s current features, privacy terms, support, and total cost with the free-resource option before deciding.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep training connected to technical safeguards
CISA’s Cyber Essentials Toolkit calls for continuous investment in cybersecurity training and awareness capabilities for personnel. Training should help employees use the protections the business has put in place, not substitute for those protections.
For MFA, CISA’s Require Multifactor Authentication guidance specifically says to educate employees. Among the methods it discusses, CISA ranks security keys as the strongest option, followed by number-matching authenticator apps, one-time-code apps, biometrics (best combined with another method), and text or email codes. Use the method appropriate to your organization’s setup and teach staff how to use it safely.
A training platform cannot itself ensure that accounts have MFA enabled, devices receive updates, data is backed up, or information is encrypted. Treat training as one part of a broader security program.
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