Learn pillar: why security awareness training is your strongest defence against AI threats
Blog|7 October 2026

Security starts with people.
The most sophisticated security tools in the world can’t stop an employee from trusting the wrong email, sharing sensitive information or approving a fraudulent request.
With research showing that up to 95% of cyber security incidents stem from human error, training remains one of the most effective ways to reduce risk. As part of the Learn pillar of our AI Security Readiness Assessment, we help organisations like yours understand how AI is changing the threat landscape and what teams can do to stay protected.
The problem: why AI is a threat to your business
AI is a helpful tool for your business, but in the wrong hands, it can be a serious threat. Whether being used by cyber attackers, or by untrained hands, the threats facing your business are substantial.
Cyber attackers are using AI to sharpen their attacks, making them faster, cheaper and, key for phishing attacks, harder to spot. Attackers are using AI to remove spelling mistakes, improve language and make phishing emails appear far more convincing than they once did. AI has also been used to create convincing deepfake audio and video content. Attackers achieve this by combining real information from public profiles with AI-generated media to create a personalised message that appears genuine. While previous advice was to look out for any errors that seem out of place or deliberately vague, that's no longer enough.
Yet another risk with the rise of AI comes from within your own team. If your employees don’t fully understand the security implications of AI, your organisation becomes vulnerable. Without understanding the sensitivity of customer and company information, employees may inadvertently expose it by entering it into AI tools that process content outside your organisation. That’s without mentioning the compliance and regulatory breaches you may be exposed to due to non-compliance with GDPR, ISO 27001 or any other security compliance regulations.
Is your business prepared for AI?
The best way to defend against AI-led threats is to prepare. If you don’t have the correct processes, permissions, and protections in place, your business is at risk. You need a clear view of your current risk landscape before deciding on the right next steps. There are many ways you can go about this, but few make that process simpler than our AI Security Readiness Assessment. To build a plan you can rely on, designed by a cyber security expert, this is your chance to adopt and prepare for AI without the unnecessary risk.
Even the strongest security controls can be undermined if employees don’t know how to recognise AI-powered threats. That comes down to training and awareness. That’s covered in the Learn pillar of our AI Security Readiness Assessment. You need to help your team understand how AI’s being used, how AI-related threats work, and how they can make safer decisions, daily.
You’re not alone, we’ll recommend our partners who offer awareness training and testing to ensure your team are able to identify threats and act accordingly. Deepfakes. AI-generated phishing emails. Social engineering attempts. We’ll help your team to become the experts at handling incoming threats.
Security awareness training partners we recommend
Building a security-conscious culture takes more than a once-a-year training session. That’s why we recommend solutions that combine training, testing and behavioural insights.

Acronis Security Awareness Training helps you build a more security-conscious team through engaging training content and realistic phishing simulations. By helping your employees recognise and respond to threats, you can improve training participation and demonstrate compliance with a range of regulatory requirements. GDPR. HIPAA. PCI DSS. SOC 2. It will also help you meet cyber insurance training requirements, which are becoming increasingly important as insurers place greater emphasis on employee cyber awareness when assessing risk.
While security awareness training is essential, many organisations are now looking beyond training alone to better understand and manage human risk.

KnowBe4 takes a human risk management approach, with a centralised platform to monitor, measure and improve security behaviours across your business. Its solutions are designed to be personalised, relevant and adaptive, helping you deliver training that resonates with employees and drives lasting behavioural change. For instance, HRM+ SAT’s deepfake agent generates customised deepfake training content featuring leaders from your organisation. It demonstrates how convincing AI-powered social engineering has become and delivers clear, actionable guidance on how to detect these attacks.
KnowBe4 helps build a stronger security culture through continuous education, testing and risk analysis.
Is your team prepared for AI threats?
AI is changing the threat landscape, but one thing remains constant: people are the first line of your defence. With the right training, awareness and governance in place, your team can use AI confidently while helping to protect your business from avoidable risk.
Fill in the form below to discuss your options for training your team to effectively identify and respond to AI threats. A member of our team will be in touch to explore how we can help you.
Our next blog in the series covers the Assess pillar of AI security.
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