Cyber security training for healthcare workers: 7 best options

Get a comprehensive review of several top cyber security training for healthcare solutions, including KnowBe4, Guardey, and Hoxhunt, each designed to improve cyber security awareness among healthcare professionals.

Check out the pros and cons, key functionalities, and user feedback to equip yourself with the necessary information to decide on the right security awareness training platform for your organization.

1. Guardey

Guardey is a cutting-edge security awareness training tool designed to drive measurable behavior change in its users.

By leveraging gamification, organizations can offer training that is ongoing, engaging and most of all effective in driving awareness and knowledge retention. There is no other solution out there that uses gamification quite like Guardey. There are micro-learnings, a compelling story line, regular achievements, and a leaderboard that creates friendly competition between colleagues.

Together with healthcare professionals, Guardey has put together a training program that is hyper relevant for the healthcare sector. From device security to patient data security, all important topics are covered. You can easily add or adjust any content within the program to fit your organization’s specific security policies.

Pros

• A specific training program for healthcare organizations that enables HIPAA-compliance.
• A completely gamified experience that keeps users engaged throughout
• Smooth onboarding and a little to no set-up time for admins
• The possibility to add tailor-made spear phishing simulations
• In-depth analytics and weekly reports for HIPAA-compliance

Cons

• Guardey doesn’t use video content, which can be time-consuming for users. If you’re looking for video training, this can be an important limitation for some.

“Guardey is a fun way to learn about cyber security because you’re playing a game. Other solutions we tested used a lot of long-winded videos, which made for a passive learning experience. We also felt people could easily just turn on the video and play a game on their phones until the video was over. You can’t slack off with Guardey.” – Kim van Polanen, Roosevelt Clinic.

→ Start a 14-day free Guardey trial

2. KnowBe4

KnowBe4 has been an established provider of ongoing cybersecurity training for some years now, boasting perhaps the largest library of materials. One feature of the program is its CARA (Compliance Audit Readiness Assessment), an assessment that makes sure organizations are ship-shape when audit time comes around. In 2022, this was expanded with additional content to address the need for cyber security training for healthcare, featuring elements that ensure compliance with HIPAA.

KnowBe4’s library contains all the materials that healthcare providers need for healthcare cyber security training.

Pros

• Baselining — an initial evaluation to find out about an organization’s security position and identify areas that require improvement, as well as providing a way to gauge progress.
• Extensive library of videos and interactive training materials.
• Gamification with scores and a league table to motivate users.
• Ongoing training.
• Convincing phishing simulations.
• Specifically relevant to healthcare settings.

Cons

• Definitely not the cheapest option.
• A lack of customizability in the training library frustrates some administrators.

The variety of topics including multifactor authentication and social media have received high praise from those who have gone through it, to the point where they can pass on the knowledge to their families and friends. – G2

3. Hoxhunt

Hoxhunt aims to deliver security training and ongoing awareness improvement through its teaching sessions, which are delivered automatically. Users are prompted to take lessons and complete tests, with training delivered in the form of short-form videos and interactive games or tests.

The training library contains materials that are relevant to healthcare settings and programs can be tailored to HIPAA compliance requirements. That said, Hoxhunt doesn’t seem to emphasize cyber security training for healthcare as much as, say, Guardey or KnowBe4.

Pros

• Baselining is provided.
• Ongoing training keeps users up to date.
• Extensive library of training materials, including interactive games, lessons and quizzes.
• Phishing simulations help staff spot malicious emails.
• Automated reporting makes it easy to evaluate training performance.
• Gamification and interactivity help to engage users.

Cons

Some users found the phishing emails too easy to spot. There’s also a time limit on reporting phishing emails, which can unfairly affect staff with large volumes of email to tackle as they might not get to the Hoxhunt email within the time limit.

Hoxhunt’s gamification yet informing practical training enables you to really get into the know of what is to be expected when dealing with malicious emails and such. It sets a precident and keeps you forever vigilant for the malevolant forces at play within the business and outer world. – G2

4. Awaretrain

Awaretrain is a smaller provider but one with a solid track record. They provide ongoing training using a large library of varied materials, with a commitment to add six brand new training modules each year.

While the training is expansive and does cover privacy issues, Awaretrain doesn’t have a program focused specifically on healthcare settings and HIPAA. Programs are customizable, however, so it might be possible to create one that coveres the necessary topics.

Pros

• Baselining and ongoing training provide measurable progress.
• Gamification and interactive materials help keep users engaged and motivated.
• Phishing simulations keep users on their toes around malicious emails.

Cons

• Longer training videos can make learning passive rather than active.
• They don’t advertise any dedicated healthcare regulation compliance programs.

“Awaretrain offers a lot of flexibility. The modules are unique and accessible. This makes it easy to offer this training to all employees.” – Source

5. Phished

Phished aims to provide an integrated cybersecurity protection and training platform, which can fend off threats while educating users. The training focuses primarily on helping users spot malicious emails, perhaps the biggest threat to security in most organizations. While their training programs are effective and their products have received certification from NIST and other major security bodies, they don’t have any specific focus on healthcare organizations.

Programs can be customized for specific organizations, however, so a suitable training course could easily be created. Phished is one of the best-reviewed products on the market, although the lack emphasis on cyber security training for healthcare might make it less attractive.

Pros

• A well-regarded provider with an integrated approach to security and training.
• Gamification and interactivity promote user engagement.
• Customizable training programs.
• Baselining and ongoing training.
• Highly convincing phishing simulations.
• AI selects materials based on each user’s risk profile to ensure that training is relevant and timely.

Cons

• Administrators note that the dashboard, while feature-rich, is unintuitive.
• There seems to be no specific training program for healthcare organizations

Phished is entirely automated. You turn it on, and everyone is enrolled in a continuous security awareness training program. There’s no need to develop phishing simulation campaigns or training programs manually; it all happens automatically. – G2

6. NINJIO

Practical and fun, Ninjio aims to eliminate training fatigue through engaging materials and short, bite-sized sessions that pack in a lot of information. While less polished than some providers, Ninjio’s cartoon-style videos are engaging and memorable. Ninjio offers specific HIPAA compliance training, with a dedicated three-episode compliance track using real-world HIPAA breach incidents to educate users. This content is designed to inform users who need to handle patient records in maintaining regulatory compliance.

Training is ongoing and tailored to individual users’ threat profiles, with machine learning and AI assessing each user’s behaviour and delivering content that is both timely and relevant to their specific needs. This feature can make Ninjio particularly useful, as it avoids making higher-level users sit through content that’s already familiar.

Pros

• Fun, engaging video content.
• Gamification and interactivity drive engagement.
• Baselining and ongoing training.
• A strong focus on avoiding malicious emails.
• Dedicated HIPAA and healthcare-related content, organized in a specific training track.

Cons

• The cartoon-style videos might feel unprofessional to some.
• The videos can be long-winded and time-consuming for some.
• The dashboard can be difficult for some administrators to use.

The voice acting is top notch, the animation is engaging, and I’ve had numerous follow-up questions from my users looking at how to implement what they’ve seen for their personal assets after some of these videos as well. – G2

7. Usecure

Usecure is another big name in cybersecurity training, offering an extensive library of high-quality materials. Videos and interactive lessons are used to instruct users in the latest cybersecurity threats, while quizzes and phishing simulations test their progress.

Usecure provides a range of cybersecurity services alongside its training programs and library. Specific materials cover HIPAA cyber security training for healthcare.

Pros

• A large library of engaging and fun content.
• Baselining and ongoing training.
• Gamification and interactivity.

Cons

• Some reviews complain about lackluster onboarding, especially in USA timezones
• Usecure doesn’t offer a free trial
• Usecure’s pricing isn’t transparently communicated on the website

Usecure has 4 main pillars, which are based around training, learning, polices and breaches. As a business we use each of the pillars daily to train our staff and keep the business secure. – G2

What should you consider when making a purchasing decision?

• Specialized training content for healthcare workers: Look for a training healthcare cyber security training solution that has a specialized program for your staff. A regular training program simply may not cover the specifics of how to manage patient data or how to use personal devices during work, for example. Make sure that all training is relevant to your staff.
• Cost and scalability: Consider the pricing structure and whether it aligns with your business size and budget constraints. The software should offer scalability to accommodate growth in personnel without significant and unexpected jumps in price. If possible, find a solution that offers transparent pricing on their website.
• User experience and interface design: A positive user experience improves the learning curve by a lot. Many tools feel unintuitive, which makes for a big drop off in participation early on in the training program.
• Ease of implementation: Security awareness training should never be difficult to implement — yet, some are and even require you to work with onboarding managers.
• Analytics and reporting: Ensure the tool you seek out offers sufficient analytics and regular reports. This data will help you to spot points of improvement and prove HIPAA-compliance.