Since 2004, Cybersecurity Awareness Month has been held every October to educate individuals, communities, and businesses on the fundamentals of cyber hygiene. What started as a broad effort focusing on small tips like updating your antivirus quickly snowballed into a global campaign promoted by influencers, institutions, and nations alike.
This year, the theme of “stay safe online” further reinforces the importance of foundational habits like strong passwords, regular updates, and so on. Now, while these measures are undoubtedly essential, they don’t tell the whole story. And relying only on them will not fix your most significant vulnerability, layer 8: people.
In fact, three-quarters of CISOs identify human error as a leading cybersecurity risk. So, the question then becomes, how do we protect our systems in such a scenario? How do we guide people to make security second nature?
Awareness Needs More Than an Email Blast
It’s 2025, and every organization understands the importance of cybersecurity awareness. Yet, most of them send emails asking employees not to click dubious links, PDFs on cyber hygienic practices, and even a webinar or two, and pray that the message sticks.
But the truth is that these “don’t click this” reminders don’t really move the needle. People are busy with projects, deadlines, and meetings, and hoping they will read and follow such practices is just wishful thinking. The game changer here is running actual phishing simulations. Everyone imagines they won’t fall for such emails, but sometimes we all need a reality check.
But the core of such an exercise isn’t in who passed and who failed, it’s what comes after. Such an exercise allows IT to both reward the people who didn’t click and educate the ones who did. Show them exactly why the email looked convincing, where the red flags were hiding, and what steps to take next time. When we started running such simulations at Hexnode, we saw a significant rise in security standards. People started scrutinizing the emails they received and even began reporting the ones that looked ‘phishy’. The key takeaway here is simple. Awareness isn’t about sending instructions; it’s about creating experiences that help people internalize good security habits.
Old Tricks, New Disguises
Attackers realized that the classics like the “Nigerian prince” emails or the old-school CEO fraud scams, where someone pretends to be the boss, demanding a wire transfer, aren’t enough anymore. And so, they leveled up.
With generative AI tools at their disposal, the scams don’t look clumsy anymore. They look frighteningly real. Emails are polished, grammar-perfect, and tailored. Voice cloning makes it possible to simulate a manager’s phone call. Deepfakes can impersonate someone in a video conference.
For employees, spotting a scam has become exponentially harder. No amount of posters on the office wall saying “Don’t click suspicious links” prepares someone for an email that looks indistinguishable from a real one, or a phone call that sounds exactly like their CFO.
In such a scenario, awareness campaigns must evolve beyond the basics. Yes, employees should know how to create strong passwords. Yes, MFA should be second nature. However, they also need to understand how attackers are using AI to manipulate trust, timing, and context. They need practice in questioning what they see and hear, even when it seems authentic.
Cybersecurity training in 2025 can’t just be about avoiding the obvious scams. It has to prepare people for the subtle, sophisticated attacks designed to slip past their instincts.
Revamping Your Tech Stack
Something that many organizations seem to forget is that this is not solely the responsibility of their employees. That’s why awareness must be coupled with the right tools that support and reinforce it without affecting the way people work.
For instance, configuring password policies using an endpoint management system not only ensures that everyone uses strong passwords but also that they change them frequently. Similarly, building a zero-trust architecture makes sure that if sensitive data is accessed from an unusual location, the system flags it or prompts for additional authentication. And if the worst comes to pass, and someone clicks a malicious link, having a threat detection and response system will step to isolate the device before damage spreads. When security is built to support people, quietly and unobtrusively, it empowers them to work safely without feeling like IT’s breathing down their neck.
And just as importantly, leadership has to lead by example. If the top brass bypasses MFA because it’s inconvenient or insists on exceptions to company policy, the entire culture weakens. However, if leaders consistently model secure behavior, employees are far more likely to follow suit. Because at the end of the day, no password, patch, or policy can fix security culture. That’s a leadership responsibility. And it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.
About the Author
Apu Pavithran is the Founder and CEO of Hexnode, the award-winning Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) platform. Hexnode helps businesses manage mobile, desktop and workplace IoT devices from a single place. Recognized in the IT management community as a consultant, speaker and thought leader, Apu has been a strong advocate for IT governance and Information security management. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and devotes a substantial amount of time to working with startups and encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs. He also finds time from his busy schedule to contribute articles and insights on topics he strongly feels about. Apu can be reached online via https://www.linkedin.com/in/apupavithran/ and at Hexnode’s company website https://www.hexnode.com/
