Security is a Team Sport: Why Education and Awareness Matter

Joe Balestrieri, Account Executive at CISO Global

I grew up playing lacrosse, and one lesson I learned early is that a team succeeds or fails together. It doesn’t matter how good the goalie is if the defense leaves gaps. It doesn’t matter how fast an offensive player is if no one is feeding the ball. Security works the same way. The strongest technology tools in the world can be undone by one missed pass, one gap in awareness, or one employee who doesn’t recognize a threat. That is why security education and awareness must be treated as a critical part of any organization’s defense.

Why Education and Awareness Come First

Many organizations focus their budgets on technical defenses. Firewalls, endpoint detection, and monitoring solutions are all essential, but they don’t stop a user from clicking on a malicious link or giving up credentials to the hacker behind a convincing email. One simple mistake can trigger a costly incident. Training your workforce is the best return on investment in security because it empowers every employee to act as part of the defense.

Annual training is not just a best practice. For many industries, it’s required for compliance. Regulators expect organizations to demonstrate that their employees are trained, tested, and kept current on the latest threats. More importantly, education creates a culture where people recognize their role in protecting the organization and one another.

Why Bring in an External Partner

Some companies try to manage education programs internally. The challenge is that effective training requires constant upkeep. Threats evolve quickly. Content becomes stale. Employees tune out if courses feel generic or irrelevant. We’ve all had to take mandatory training courses at our jobs, and there’s nothing that feels like a bigger waste of time for the employee than a boring training session. Unengaging training content, though well-intentioned, can become a risk in your company’s security posture. On top of that, building and delivering campaigns takes time and many organizations simply don’t have the dedicated resources to pull it off themselves.

That is where an external partner like CISO Global adds value. We work with industry-leading platforms recognized by Gartner to deliver high-quality, easy-to-use training. The content is professionally curated, available in multiple languages, and constantly updated to reflect real-world attacks. By outsourcing the cadence of training and phishing simulations, organizations remove the burden from internal teams and still gain all the benefits.

Partnering also provides independence. When an external party manages the program, there is no bias in reporting, scheduling, or results interpretation. Executives receive clear compliance reporting and actionable recommendations. Our team reviews outcomes, identifies trends, and suggests follow-up training to strengthen weak areas. All of this comes with minimal internal resources required.

The Value of Phishing Campaigns

Phishing campaigns are often misunderstood. They are not about catching employees doing something wrong. Instead, they are a safe environment to practice the right behaviors. The point is to simulate the tricks attackers use so employees learn to pause, think, and respond appropriately.

Too often, organizations measure success only by the “click rate.” That misses the bigger picture. What really matters is the “report rate.” Do employees recognize that something is suspicious? Do they know how to escalate it quickly? Encouraging reporting, and rewarding those who take action, builds stronger habits than punishing mistakes.

With CISO Global, phishing campaigns are designed based on what attackers are actively using in the field. Our team selects simulations that mirror current industry trends, ensuring training stays relevant. We also integrate with email security tools, making simulations seamless and realistic without creating unnecessary disruption.

One Program, Many Benefits

By working with CISO Global, organizations get more than just training modules and phishing tests. They gain a full program supported by experts. That includes:

• A large content library of engaging courses
• Advanced phishing simulations tailored to current threats
• Executive compliance reporting for audits and regulators
• Independent results interpretation and recommendations
• Easy-to-use delivery with minimal impact on staff
• Multi-language support to reach global teams
• Access to the Argo security dashboard for consolidated reporting

The program is cost-effective and requires little lift from your team. Instead of asking internal staff to manage campaigns, track completions, and analyze data, you can rely on a single vendor relationship that covers all of it.

Building the Culture of a Winning Team

Security education and awareness is not about a single course or a single campaign. It is about creating a culture where employees understand their role in defense and feel confident in how to act. Just as a lacrosse team practices together to prepare for game day, organizations need ongoing, structured practice to prepare for the inevitable attempts by attackers.

A well-trained team communicates better, reacts faster, and supports one another. With the right program, security becomes less about fear and more about empowerment. Employees stop feeling like they might be the weak link and start seeing themselves as defenders of the organization.

Let’s Build Your Program Together

At CISO Global, we make it easy to outsource your security education and awareness needs. With high-quality content, expert phishing simulations, and reporting tools that keep leadership informed, we provide everything needed to strengthen your team’s defense.

If you would like to see how our program can support your organization, reach out to me on LinkedIn. Just like on the field, the best defense comes from working together.