Onboarding success: Ways organizations can empower new employees to build security confidence

Building a culture of cybersecurity awareness from day one

Takeaways

• Organizations must prioritize cybersecurity awareness from the first day of onboarding to empower employees and build their security confidence.
• Human error is the leading cause of data breaches, with 60% involving a human element and 90% of organizations viewing employees as their biggest cybersecurity risk.
• Cybersecurity training should be integrated into the standard onboarding process, not delayed or treated as a secondary concern.
• Untrained staff are more likely to make mistakes such as sharing protected data or falling for social engineering attacks, highlighting the need for early and comprehensive security education.

Humans remain the top cause of data breaches. According to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, 60% of data breaches reported by companies involved a human element. As noted by a recent Gartner poll, meanwhile, the call is coming from inside the house — 90% of respondents said employees were the biggest cybersecurity risk to their organization.

With C-suite executives such as CIOs, CISOs and security leaders now paradoxically tasked with supporting staff autonomy even as they reduce total risk, effective cybersecurity onboarding becomes critical. Here’s how companies can keep data safe while they help employees build their security smarts.

Cybersecurity onboarding: What you need to cover

Employee onboarding is primarily role-specific — staff are given the resources and training they need to perform well in their new position. But there are some common overlaps. For example, all staff are provided with information about benefits, payroll, time sheets, and day-to-day operating procedures.

Cybersecurity falls under this common banner, but it is often seen as something staff will “pick up” over time or during an annual security awareness training when it comes up eventually. This approach creates the problem noted above: Even with the best intentions, untrained staff may accidentally share protected data or fall victim to social engineering scams. 

To reduce this risk, cybersecurity training should be part of any onboarding effort. While specifics vary by company, four components are common:

Password expectations

Despite the uptake of multifactor authentication (MFA), passwords remain the primary access point for many employee accounts. But, these same passwords are a potential source of security slipups. Consider that in  2025, the two most common passwords were “123456” and “admin”.

As a result, it’s worth covering password expectations: how many characters, how many non-letter symbols or numbers, and how often passwords must be changed. Ideally, companies should use protective software that requires rather than suggests regular password changes or require employees to use a password manager.

Email interactions

Next up is email. Social engineering and phishing efforts remain commonplace and are often the first point of compromise for malicious actors. Onboarding should include hands-on training that identifies potential red flags and then gives employees the chance to evaluate and respond to examples in real time.

Mobile device considerations

Many organizations now expect staff to bring their own mobile device or use company-provided technology to stay in touch. In both cases, onboarding should include a discussion of any mobile device management (MDM) software used by the company to monitor and secure devices. Onboarding teams should also provide a list of approved applications that are permitted on company networks. 

Incident communications

It’s also important to discuss incident reporting. Consider that in the last 12 months, 57% of organizations experienced a successful ransomware attack. Early reporting can help minimize the impact of these attacks. As a result, new staff should be trained in what to report, when to report it and who they should notify.

Potential pitfalls in cybersecurity training

Data breaches are expensive — $4.4 million on average, according to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025. As a result, it’s tempting for businesses to go all-in on cybersecurity training in hopes of avoiding an incredibly expensive employee incident.

The problem? This can do more harm than good. Here are some of the most common pitfalls in cybersecurity training.

1. Overly complex guidelines

By and large, employees are not IT experts. Guidelines meant for experienced tech staff can undermine training efforts because they assume specialized knowledge and leave new hires in the dark. 

2. Unclear expectations

Security policies are only effective if they come with clear expectations: If “X” event occurs, take action “Y.” If you make “A” choice, “B” is the consequence. Without these expectations, staff aren’t sure if policies are hard-and-fast rules or simply security suggestions, setting the stage for potential compromise.

3. No options for inquiry

No matter how good your training is, staff will still have questions. These questions often come up after the fact, for example, when employees sit down to start their first day. If there’s no option for inquiry — no clear contact for questions or concerns — staff may inadvertently make security errors.

Four steps for getting staff up to speed

Cybersecurity isn’t one-and-done. Instead, it’s an iterative process that evolves alongside employees as they gain more experience in their roles. To get staff up to speed — and help them stay on track — start with these four steps.

Step 1: Address the big issues

Start big. Think ransomware, phishing, and brute-force password attacks; any security compromise that could lead to significant time and money lost. Emphasize the risks and provide clear instructions to help avoid accidental exposure.

Step 2: Connect actions to outcomes

Next, connect possible actions to direct outcomes. For example, if security policies state that unauthorized data sharing may result in additional training after the first instance and disciplinary action after the next, make this clear.

Step 3: Leave time for Q&A

Don't rush through security training and send staff on their way. Instead, make time for questions. Depending on their level of familiarity with corporate systems and security processes, staff may need a review of basic policies or have more in-depth questions. Answering these questions reduces the risk of accidental compromise.

Step 4: Align access permissions with employee position

This onboarding step falls to C-suites and IT teams. Access to corporate resources should always be restricted based on employee role. Here, the use of identification and access management (IAM) tools can help streamline management and track possible risks.

Smooth sailing: The impact of effective cybersecurity onboarding

Role-based onboarding helps new staff excel in their positions. Cybersecurity onboarding, meanwhile, reduces the risk that new hires present to company data, networks and operations.

Best bet? Help staff find security confidence by providing comprehensive training that speaks their language, clearly communicates cause and effect, leaves time for questions, and provides a clear path for process inquiry and incident reporting.