You need to explain security risks to non-technical colleagues. How can you make them understand?
How do you make security risks relatable? Share your strategies for explaining them to non-tech colleagues.
You need to explain security risks to non-technical colleagues. How can you make them understand?
How do you make security risks relatable? Share your strategies for explaining them to non-tech colleagues.
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🎯 Start with context they know—compare a phishing email to someone tricking their way into your home by pretending to be a friend 🎯 Use business impact language: instead of “data breach,” say “customer trust loss” or “financial penalties” 🎯 Walk them through real incidents that happened in similar industries 🎯 Create short, role-specific threat scenarios so they see how risks apply to *their* day-to-day 🎯 Build a culture of curiosity—encourage questions and reward secure behavior 🎯 Don’t just teach—embed security into workflows so it's part of how they already work
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Start with real-life examples they can relate to—like how leaving a door unlocked invites theft. Explain that clicking unknown links or using weak passwords is the digital version of that. Use simple terms, avoid jargon, and highlight how their actions protect not just themselves but the whole team.
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"Security isn't just a tech issue, it's everyone's responsibility." Here’s how to explain security risks to non-technical colleagues: Use Analogies: Compare risks to everyday situations, like a password being a house key. Focus on Impact: Explain how breaches affect them personally or the business. Tell a Story: Share relatable real-world examples of security breaches. Relate to Daily Life: Show how security is like locking doors or using cameras at home. Highlight Benefits: Explain how security protects both the business and their personal data.
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To make them understand, you need to first try to think from their point of view. This is so that you would know what parts of the explanation about the security risks that they might not understand. You need to also use simple layman term when explaining to them. This is to avoid them from becoming blur and misunderstand your explanations. You should also show them real life examples of the types of security risks. This is because it's easier for them to relate to real life incidents.
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Utilizing chess as an analogy: King is data Pawns, rooks, knights, bishops and queen act as security measures to protect the king aka data. The threats for the king can be explained as hackers. If we make moves without thinking strategically, the king aka data will be in danger Compare cybersecurity to locking the front door of the house Visual summarization through charts, graphs and images can prove to be a useful tool Interactive dashboards serve as a hands-on experience and can facilitate a better grasp of the security posture Offer simplified, bullet-point presentations to outline complex security issues Translate cybersecurity terminology into everyday words and phrases that are familiar to a general audience
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