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Cybersecurity vocabulary · Governance, Risk and Compliance

Security awareness

Meaning in cybersecurity, with examples

nounCore term

In cybersecurity, security awareness means: Employees' knowledge of everyday security risks, such as phishing and weak passwords, and of what to do about them; also the training that builds this knowledge.

In Turkish: güvenlik farkındalığı, farkındalık eğitimi

How it is used

Mostly heard as 'security awareness training' or 'security awareness programme'. Many standards require it at least once a year. Teams measure it with phishing simulations, short quizzes and the number of suspicious emails staff report.

Example sentences

  1. All new hires must complete security awareness training in their first week.

  2. Better security awareness meant that more phishing emails were reported this quarter.

Common collocations

  • security awareness training
  • awareness programme
  • raise awareness
  • awareness campaign
  • phishingA trick in which attackers send fake emails, messages or websites that look trustworthy, hoping people will click a link, open a file or reveal their passwords.
  • social engineeringManipulating people, rather than breaking technology, to make them reveal information, give access or take an action that helps an attacker.
  • security policyA formal document, approved by management, that sets the rules an organisation follows to protect its information, systems and people.
  • complianceThe state of following the laws, regulations, standards and internal policies that apply to an organisation, and being able to prove it.

More terms: Governance, Risk and Compliance

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