The 5 best role-based security awareness training solutions

Your finance team does not handle all the same data as your sales team and vice versa. So why would you give them the exact same security awareness training?

In this article, we’ll get into the importance of role-based security awareness training and which options there are available on the market.

What is role-based security awareness training?

Role-based security awareness training refers to when training is adjusted to fit each role’s responsibilities. This type of training is often required to be able to comply with information security standards such as ISO 27001, NIS 2, HIPAA, and more.

Different roles within an organization deal with different data and cyber risks. For instance, you want your finance team to understand the dangers of CEO fraud. They should learn to always double-check untrustworthy payment requests and understand when to ring the alarm bells.

The 5 best role-based security awareness training solutions

1. Guardey

Guardey is a gamified security awareness training solution. With gamification elements such as a storyline, short challenges, a leaderboard, and achievements, it aims to keep users engaged during long periods. Especially the company-wide leaderboard stimulates friendly competition between colleagues, which boosts participation rate significantly.

During short, weekly challenges, Guardey learn about cyber threats such as:

• Phishing
• Malware
• Social engineering
• Password security
• Device security
• And much more.

You can easily add role-based security awareness training content for specific users and teams. The LMS enables you to create that content yourself or use content from its public library. You can also create leaderboards per department, which helps to create fun competition among teams.

Pros

• High customizability makes Guardey perfect for role-based security awareness training.
• Gamification keeps users engaged.
• Reliable and fast customer support (24/7).
• Affordable and transparent pricing.

Cons

• Guardey purposefully doesn’t use video in its training programs, which can be a dealbreaker for some.

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2. Hoxhunt

Hoxhunt is one of the most popular cybersecurity training solutions on the market. It’s especially useful for larger organizations and enterprises, where automated training programs are a must. Hoxhunt’s slick content and customizability have made it a hit with many customers, although there are few who don’t blanch a little at the price.

Hoxhunt uses a combination of training videos, interactive quizzes and ongoing evaluation to instruct users and drive behavioural change. In the context of role-based security awareness training, Hoxhunt’s main appeal comes from its customizability. The training programs can be built around specific departments and user roles, ensuring that learners receive the most crucial information as well as more generalized material.

Pros

• Customizability and white labeling make Hoxhunt a good option for role-based security awareness training programs.
• Great for enterprise-level businesses and large, complex organizations, which can benefit from automation in training and evaluation.
• Gamification through scoring and leaderboards drives engagement.
• Reliable customer support.

Cons

• Can be expensive for some organizations.
• Can be unwieldy for smaller organizations.

3. KnowBe4

KnowBe4 offers a similar product to many others in the market but distinguishes itself in two ways: one, the quality of its training materials and two, its scalability. While it’s certainly not the cheapest option on the market, KnowBe4’s tiered pricing structure and per-seat billing model make it much more affordable for small and mid-sized organizations. In terms of training, users are provided with short videos to watch, interactive quizzes, and regular tests at the end of each module.

Users also receive simulated phishing emails, which are reportedly very convincing. From the perspective of role-based security awareness training, KnowBe4 is a good option. Its training programs are highly customizable and can be tailored to specific roles. Reviewer gripes are minor, generally relating to the searchability of the training library. Customers report that it’s easy to create campaigns for their specific needs.

Pros

• Quality materials.
• Interactive learning.
• Baselining.
• Ongoing training and evaluation.
• Customizability supports role-based training.

Cons

• The library can be a little unwieldy, with a great deal of material and a tricky search function.
• It can be difficult to edit existing campaigns rather than creating new ones from scratch.

4. Metacompliance

Metacompliance is a training solutions provider with a range of programs tailored to specific departments. Currently, they offer cybersecurity awareness training for sales, HR, marketing, finance, procurement and legal departments. There are also dedicated programs for privileged users and executive teams. Combined with a high degree of personalization, this makes Metacompliance an attractive option if you’re looking for role-based training. In terms of the training itself, users have praised the quality of Metacompliance’s videos and other materials.

Besides being extensive, the training library has also attracted praise for being well-organized and easy to search for specific items or modules. Metacompliance provides baselining and phishing evaluations to give customers a realistic picture of their organization’s current security status, followed by ongoing training through short videos and interactive quizzes. Metacompliance makes good use of gamification to encourage users to stay engaged.

Pros

• Specifically curated training programs for individual departments.
• Fresh, up-to-date and engaging content.
• Gamification drives engagement.

Cons

• A limited number of interactive games.
• The campaign creation process has been described as cumbersome by some.

5. NINJIO

Ninjio’s short animated videos aim to deliver important cybersecurity information in a way that appeals to users. Their main selling point is an emphasis on user engagement by ensuring that videos never become tedious, keeping durations short and content amusing. The training library is extensive and admins can create their own tailor-made programs for specific roles. Learning is supported with interactive material and quizzes. Learners are scored on their performance, allowing them to compete with each other.

Users must also respond effectively to Ninjio’s convincing phishing simulations in order to climb the leaderboard. Ninjio is generally well-reviewed, with users praising the fun yet highly informative materials and the convincing simulations. On the admin side, though, there are a few criticisms. Some find Ninjio’s dashboard hard to use and there are occasional glitches with email delivery, although these seem to be declining as Ninjio continually improve their product. Another potential issue is the animated video content. While fun, this can have an unprofessional feel that might put off some users.

Pros

• Highly engaging and widely praised training materials.
• Gamification.
• Baselining.
• Ongoing training and evaluation.
• Customizable for role-based security awareness training.

Cons

• Admin dashboard can be tricky for some users.
• Video-based training can be time-consuming
• Cartoon-style videos might feel unprofessional in some contexts.

Conclusion

Role-based security awareness training is key to make sure your team members are well-prepared for cyber threats that were tailor-made for their profiles.

With Guardey, you can easily set up training programs for different departments or other groups. You can either create custom content yourself or use content from our public library.

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