Fortinet Report Finds Nearly 70% of Organizations Say Their Employees Lack Fundamental Security Awareness

Core Insights - Fortinet emphasizes the critical role of a cyber-aware workforce in managing organizational risk, especially as cyber threats become more sophisticated with the use of AI [1][2] Group 1: Key Findings from the Report - Over 60% of leaders believe that AI will make it harder for employees to spot cyber threats, with 80% indicating that awareness of AI-augmented attacks has led to greater openness to security training [2] - Nearly 70% of surveyed leaders feel their employees lack essential cybersecurity knowledge, an increase from 56% in 2023 [2] - 96% of leaders support employee security awareness training, with 89% reporting improvements in security posture post-training [4][5] Group 2: Threat Landscape - Phishing schemes have become more sophisticated due to AI, making them harder to detect, with over 80% of organizations facing attacks targeting individuals last year [3] - Phishing prevention is included in 98% of training programs, with data security and privacy also being top priorities [3] Group 3: Training Program Effectiveness - Engaging content is crucial for effective training, with 86% of decision-makers satisfied with their current solutions, though many cite a lack of engaging content as a concern [6] - The average proposed time commitment for training is three hours, with a common range of 1.1 to 2.0 hours [6] Group 4: Organizational Support and Implementation - A significant majority of leaders (96%) are motivated to implement training based on prior breaches or industry threat knowledge [5] - Fortinet's Security Awareness and Training service aims to develop a cyber-aware workforce, offering customizable content and tracking capabilities [8]