Training is one of the most important aspects of IT system management and yet is one of the least implemented items across most organisations. Training improves security efficiency, productivity and compliance. With 76%* of Cybersecurity breaches caused by human factors, Cybersecurity training is not just a nice to have, it is absolutely essential to ensure your organisation's staff are able to identify, prevent and respond to criminal attempts to access your systems, or indeed, to just minimise the opportunity to make mistakes. Cybersecurity is everyone's job, not just the IT team and through ongoing training and testing, we can improve the skills of staff and reduce the organisations risk profile.
Cybersecurity Training
At Mercury IT, we recognise the difference that training can make to improving an organisation's Cybersecurity posture. We offer both Ad-Hoc tailored training packages as well as a structured testing and training program called Cyber Aware that we have partnered with a leading Australian Cybersecurity training provider to deliver an ongoing annual training and testing program.
Ad-Hoc Training
A great way to kick off your cyber security journey and ensure that staff understand the risks to the organisation and motivate them to implement changes to their day to day activities.
Sessions are interactive and conversational. Topics covered can include:
- Overview of cybersecurity
- Overview of the organisation's specific risk factors
- Presentation of cybersecurity policy
- Best practices around passwords, spotting phishing attacks, safe web browsing and handling important information.
- What to do should you suspect malicious activity
Training for the Management team is also available and include all of the above with the addition of:
- Management responsibilities
- Governance
- Compliance
- Legal implications
*Source: Office of the Information Commissioner - Notifiable Data Breach results Quarter 2, 2018, 76% of all notifiable breaches caused by human factors.
FAQs
Cybersecurity awareness training is an educational program that teaches employees how to recognise and respond to common cyber risks such as phishing, unsafe links or attachments, weak passwords, and data handling mistakes. Effective training is tailored to your business, uses real-world examples, and is reinforced with simple policies and regular refreshers. Mercury IT delivers engaging, practical training designed for Australian businesses and the specific threats they face.
Training is essential because a significant proportion of cyber incidents involve human action—such as clicking a malicious link, sharing credentials, or mishandling sensitive data. The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report consistently finds that the majority of breaches include a human element. Even the best technical controls can be bypassed if staff don't understand their role in security. Regular training builds a security-aware culture, reduces successful phishing and fraud attempts, and supports compliance and cyber insurance requirements.
Phishing simulation is a practical test of your employee training effectiveness. Mercury IT sends realistic but harmless simulated phishing emails to your staff to measure who clicks, who enters credentials, and who correctly reports the suspicious email. This provides data-driven measurement of your human risk level and identifies individuals who need additional training. Simulations are conducted regularly to track improvement over time and keep staff vigilant against evolving phishing techniques.
Cybersecurity training must be an ongoing process, not a one-time annual event. Effective programs combine foundational training for all new hires, regular brief refreshers (monthly or quarterly micro-learning modules), and practical phishing simulations throughout the year. This continuous approach keeps security awareness current, addresses emerging threats like AI-powered attacks, and maintains the behavioural change needed to reduce human risk. Mercury IT provides managed training programs that maintain engagement without overwhelming your team.
A comprehensive program covers the threats most likely to target your business. Core topics include phishing and social engineering (recognising malicious emails, texts, and calls), password and credential security (creating strong passwords and using MFA correctly), data handling (safely managing and disposing of sensitive information), remote work security (securing home networks and using VPNs), and AI use policies (understanding what company data is safe to use in AI tools). Mercury IT customises training content to your industry and specific risk profile.
