Description

Welcome to Razorwire, the podcast that challenges conventional thinking about cybersecurity with insight, humour and a dose of reality.

In this episode, James Rees is joined by security awareness specialists Amy Stokes-Waters and Jemma to dismantle outdated approaches to security training. From click-through fatigue to the critical importance of culture change, our experts explore why traditional computer-based training fails to make organisations truly secure.

Listen as Amy and Jemma share their expertise on transforming security awareness from a box-ticking exercise into meaningful behaviour change. Their refreshingly honest assessment of the "80% compliance myth" and why focusing on business impact rather than personal consequences undermines effectiveness will have security professionals nodding in recognition.

Whether you're a CISO struggling with training completion rates, an IT professional tired of being ignored, or someone who's repeatedly clicked "next" through mandatory security modules wondering if there's a better way, this conversation offers practical alternatives to the stale CBT approach that dominates the industry.

Tune in for a candid discussion that feels like eavesdropping on three security professionals brainstorming how to fix what's broken in security awareness while acknowledging the realities of human behaviour.

3 Key Talking Points:

1. Why Traditional Security Training Fails Everyone Discover the fundamental flaws in conventional security awareness approaches that waste both time and budgets. When Amy reveals that "less than 1% [of IT budgets] is spent on humans" while "95% of incidents are caused by humans," you'll understand why throwing money at technical solutions while neglecting human factors is a losing strategy. Listen for actionable insights on avoiding the compliance trap that leaves organisations vulnerable despite ticking all the regulatory boxes.
2. The McDonald's Approach to Security Awareness Learn why successful security awareness should mirror effective marketing campaigns rather than dreaded annual training sessions. Our experts break down how security teams should adopt McDonald's persistent, multi-channel strategy instead of expecting one-off sessions to change behaviour. You'll gain practical strategies for implementing "security by osmosis" that keeps protective measures visible and top-of-mind without creating training fatigue or resistance.
4. Measuring What Actually Matters Transform how you evaluate security awareness effectiveness with metrics that genuinely reflect improved security. When Jemma dismantles the "80% of people scored 80%" myth, you'll understand why completion rates and phishing test results fail to indicate real security improvements. Listen for concrete guidance on tracking meaningful engagement metrics like security team contact, proactive reporting, and actual incident reduction that demonstrate true cultural change rather than superficial compliance.

"What a lot of people are doing is security training for compliance, but they're not actually doing anything around the culture. They're hitting the compliance metrics. Brilliant. But the actual culture of the organization is still inherently insecure."

- Amy Stokes-Waters, on the difference between compliance and cultural change

Listen to this episode on your favourite podcasting platform: https://razorwire.captivate.fm/listen

In this episode, we covered the following topics:

• Budget Reality Check: Learn why organisations spending less than 1% of IT budgets on human factors whilst 95% of incidents are...