Building a Sustainable Security Culture in SMEs

Stuttgart, Germany - September 24, 2025

How SMEs can strengthen defenses by making security a shared responsibility

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up the backbone of most economies, but they are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. Limited IT budgets, smaller teams, and lack of specialized expertise leave many SMEs vulnerable to phishing, ransomware, and data breaches. Yet, attackers know that compromising an SME can open doors to entire supply chains.

AWM AwareX provides SMEs with accessible training platforms that scale to their needs. Instead of expensive enterprise-only solutions, the platform offers phishing simulations, awareness modules, and multilingual content that can be adapted to small teams. This ensures that SMEs can raise awareness without overwhelming their budgets.

CypSec complements this by embedding human risk management into SMEs' governance frameworks. Risk-based access control, automated compliance checks, and continuous monitoring help small businesses adopt enterprise-grade protections without requiring large security teams. Security becomes manageable even with limited resources.

A sustainable culture also depends on relevance. Training must be tailored to employees' actual roles. AWM AwareX ensures that finance teams, customer service, and administrators all receive role-specific simulations and awareness content, making the lessons directly applicable to daily tasks.

"A strong security culture requires a security-first mindset. SMEs that embed awareness and governance become just as resilient as large enterprises," said Frederick Roth, Chief Information Security Officer at CypSec.

Beyond training, SMEs need to make security part of everyday work. CypSec supports this shift by embedding alerts, adaptive access policies, and lightweight monitoring into business workflows. Employees become participants in security rather than passive recipients of rules.

This dual approach also strengthens compliance. Many SMEs must demonstrate GDPR, ISO, or industry-specific compliance to retain business contracts. Combining AWM AwareX training data with CypSec governance provides measurable evidence of awareness, reducing audit stress and building customer trust.

Creating sustainable culture requires consistency. One-off training sessions fade quickly, but continuous phishing simulations, regular feedback, and visible leadership support keep security top of mind. SMEs that normalize awareness in their workflows see measurable reductions in successful phishing attacks.

Through their partnership, AWM AwareX and CypSec provide SMEs with the tools to go beyond compliance. They enable small businesses to cultivate a culture where employees see security as part of their responsibility, where governance supports awareness, and where resilience becomes a shared strength across the organization.

About AWM AwareX: AWM AwareX provides a security awareness platform with phishing simulations, adaptive training, and analytics designed for organizations of all sizes. For more information, visit awm-awarex.de.

About CypSec: CypSec delivers enterprise-grade risk management, access governance, and compliance automation. Together with AWM AwareX, it helps SMEs build sustainable, long-term security cultures. For more information, visit cypsec.de.

Media Contact: Daria Fediay, Chief Executive Officer at CypSec - daria.fediay@cypsec.de.