cybersecurity training

Budget constraints are real. Whether you’re a startup founder, a small business owner, or an IT manager at a company that hasn’t yet prioritized security training investment, you need options that don’t require five-figure commitments.

Good news: legitimate free security awareness training exists. It won’t match enterprise platforms with dedicated customer success teams and unlimited customization, but it can meaningfully improve your organization’s security posture.

This guide separates genuinely useful free resources from marketing traps, explains what free options can and can’t do, and helps you make an informed decision about when free is enough and when it isn’t.

Before diving into specific resources, understand the business models behind free offerings:

Freemium models: Limited free tiers designed to demonstrate value and convert users to paid plans. These often restrict user counts, features, or content access.

Government and nonprofit resources: Genuinely free educational content funded by taxpayers or organizational missions. Quality varies, but there’s no sales funnel.

Marketing-driven content: Free resources designed primarily to capture leads. The training may be superficial, with real value locked behind paywalls.

Open-source projects: Community-developed resources available without cost. Often require technical expertise to deploy.

Each model has implications for what you’ll actually receive and what strings may be attached.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: we offer a free interactive exercise library and you’re reading our blog.

Here’s the honest breakdown:

What’s included free:

• Interactive 3D phishing simulations
• Social engineering awareness scenarios
• Basic security fundamentals exercises
• No registration required to try

What’s not included:

• Full course library (premium only)
• SCORM packages for LMS integration
• Analytics and completion tracking
• Custom branding and configuration
• Dedicated support

Why we do this: We believe people should experience quality security training before buying. Our free exercises demonstrate what’s possible with interactive simulations versus passive video content. Some organizations will never need more than free resources. Others will see the value and choose to invest in comprehensive solutions.

No guilt trips. No aggressive sales follow-up. Just quality free resources.

Several government agencies and nonprofits provide legitimate free security awareness resources:

The U.S. government’s cybersecurity agency offers:

• Free training courses covering security fundamentals
• Phishing awareness materials for organizational use
• Industry-specific guidance for critical infrastructure sectors
• Tabletop exercise packages for incident response practice

Best for: Organizations seeking credible, vendor-neutral content backed by government expertise.

Limitations: Content can be dry and government-focused. No interactive simulations or engagement features.

SANS, known for technical security training, offers:

• Free security awareness resources for community use
• Poster and newsletter templates
• Basic training modules on common threats

Best for: Organizations with technical audiences who respect the SANS brand.

Limitations: Free tier is limited; premium content requires significant investment.

StaySafeOnline.org provides:

• Consumer-focused security guidance
• Small business security resources
• Annual awareness campaign materials (Cybersecurity Awareness Month)

Best for: Small organizations seeking basic, accessible content.

Limitations: Consumer-oriented; may not address enterprise concerns adequately.

Free security awareness training may be sufficient if:

Your organization is small (under 25 employees)

• Administrative overhead of enterprise platforms isn’t justified
• You can personally follow up on training completion
• Individual attention compensates for platform limitations

You’re establishing baseline awareness

• Employees have never received security training
• Any training is better than current state (none)
• You’re building the case for future investment

You have technical capability

• IT staff can deploy open-source solutions
• You can build custom training using free content
• Integration with existing systems isn’t a requirement

Compliance isn’t driving requirements

• You’re not subject to regulations mandating specific training
• Audit documentation isn’t a primary concern
• “We did training” is sufficient for stakeholders

Consider paid solutions when:

Scale matters

• Training hundreds or thousands of employees
• Multiple locations or distributed workforce
• Administrative burden of manual tracking becomes prohibitive

Compliance requires documentation

• Regulations mandate training records
• Auditors expect completion reports
• Liability concerns require provable training delivery

Phishing simulation is essential

• You need to measure actual employee vulnerability
• Continuous testing is required for improvement
• Simulated attacks must appear legitimate

Behavior change is the goal

• Passive awareness isn’t translating to action
• You need engagement-driving features (gamification, competitions)
• Interactive scenarios are required for skill development

Integration is required

• Training must integrate with existing LMS
• Single sign-on is necessary for adoption
• Reporting must feed into security dashboards

If you’ve decided free resources fit your current needs, maximize their impact:

Don’t just share random links. Build a coherent curriculum:

1. Foundation: Basic security principles everyone needs
2. Threat-specific: Phishing, social engineering, password security
3. Role-specific: Additional content for high-risk positions
4. Ongoing: Regular reinforcement and updates

Generic free content becomes more relevant with organizational context:

• Add examples using your company’s actual systems and processes
• Include your specific policies and procedures
• Reference recent industry incidents affecting similar organizations
• Feature real (anonymized) near-misses from your organization

Even without platform analytics, measure something:

• Training completion (even if manually tracked)
• Quiz scores if resources include assessments
• Incident rates before and after training
• Employee feedback and comprehension

Annual training isn’t enough. Create ongoing touchpoints:

• Monthly security tips via email or Slack
• Quarterly focused training on specific threats
• Real-time alerts when relevant threats emerge
• Regular reminders of reporting procedures

Phishing simulation is the most impactful training component, but also the hardest to get free. Options include:

A legitimate open-source phishing simulation platform:

Pros:

• Fully featured simulation capability
• No per-user licensing costs
• Complete control over data

Cons:

• Requires technical expertise to deploy
• No support beyond community forums
• You’re responsible for email deliverability
• No pre-built training content

Best for: Organizations with technical staff willing to invest setup time.

Several vendors offer restricted free access:

• Limited user counts (often 25-50 users)
• Limited simulation frequency
• Basic reporting only
• Sales follow-up expected

Best for: Evaluating platforms before purchase or very small organizations.

If free resources are a stepping stone to proper investment, gather evidence:

• Document phishing emails that reached employees
• Note security incidents involving human error
• Research breach costs in your industry
• Calculate potential liability exposure

• Show tracking gaps that prevent compliance documentation
• Identify engagement issues with passive content
• Document administrative time spent on manual processes
• Note security gaps free resources don’t address

Compare training costs against:

• Average breach cost in your industry ($4.88 million globally)
• Incident response and recovery costs
• Regulatory fine exposure
• Reputation damage potential

Even modest training investments show favorable ROI against these risks.

When you’re ready to upgrade:

• Note which free content resonated with employees
• Keep reinforcement cadences that proved effective
• Maintain cultural elements that drove engagement

• Prioritize features that free resources lacked
• Focus on measurable improvements to existing weaknesses
• Ensure new platform solves actual problems, not theoretical ones

• Communicate change to employees
• Allow learning curve with new platform
• Compare metrics before and after transition

Free security awareness training is a legitimate starting point. Government resources, nonprofit content, and vendor free tiers can meaningfully improve security posture when budgets are constrained.

But free has limits. It lacks the engagement features, simulation capabilities, analytics, and support that drive sustained behavior change at scale. Organizations serious about security eventually outgrow free resources.

The question isn’t “free or paid?” It’s “free for now, or paid now?”

Start with quality free resources. Measure what you can. Build the case for investment. When you’re ready, transition to solutions that match your organizational maturity.

Your security posture shouldn’t be limited by what’s free. But it also shouldn’t be zero because enterprise solutions seem out of reach.

Experience the difference between passive and interactive security training. Try our free exercise library. No registration, no credit card, no sales pitch. Just quality training you can start today.