Cybersecurity training does not have to start with advanced simulated attacks. Bring your IT team together and test your incident response plan against a realistic scenario: What happens if an employee’s account is compromised on a Friday afternoon? Who takes action, who makes decisions and when is the incident escalated?

It is important to distinguish between learning exercises, which aim to build understanding and drive improvement, and assessment exercises, which test the organisation’s actual capabilities.

Here’s how to build your training step by step:

1. Start with an internal review and test your incident response plan against a relevant scenario.
2. Conduct a scenario-based exercise with management, focusing on decision-making, responsibilities, priorities and communication.
3. Test the entire response chain and ensure that information and decisions flow effectively from the helpdesk and IT team to security officers and crisis management.

As your organisation matures, you can introduce technical testing and simulated attacks. The most important thing is that the exercises reflect the realities of your business.

Assume the Attacker Is Already Inside

Keeping attackers out is important, but cybersecurity is also about limiting the damage if someone has already gained access.

Penetration tests often start from the assumption that the outer defences have already been breached. These tests show that attackers can sometimes reach critical parts of the IT environment through exposed passwords or inadequately protected privileged accounts.

Regularly check whether users can escalate their privileges, whether critical systems can be accessed from unauthorised environments, and whether passwords or other login credentials have been exposed.

Train Together with Your Suppliers

Systems, data and security often depend on external suppliers. That is why setting security requirements when signing contracts is not enough. Those requirements must also be monitored and tested.

Identify your most critical suppliers and ensure that security requirements also extend to their subcontractors. Practise incident response together: Who contacts whom? How is information shared? Who makes decisions and communicates with the wider organisation?

Even when you outsource security services, the responsibility remains with your own organisation. Suppliers can help detect and manage threats, but incident response must work as one coordinated process.

Close the Gap Between Policy and Practice

A common challenge is the difference between how security is supposed to work and how it actually works in practice.

Sometimes policies exist but are not followed. In other cases, security measures work thanks to the efforts of individual employees, but the procedures are not documented. Both situations create vulnerabilities.

Make sure documented procedures are followed, effective working practices are recorded, and responsibilities and decision-making authority are clearly defined. An external review can help identify weaknesses that may be difficult to detect internally.

Make Cybersecurity a Year-Round Priority

Individual exercises provide valuable insights, but consistency is a key success factor. Establish an annual cybersecurity training plan that includes recurring phishing simulations, management exercises, technical tests and training sessions.

Start at an appropriate level and gradually increase the complexity as your organisation’s capabilities develop. An annual plan creates structure, accountability and opportunities for follow-up.

October is a natural time to focus on training, as Cybersecurity Awareness Month provides an opportunity to engage the entire organisation through quizzes, short training sessions and internal campaigns. At the same time, use the autumn budgeting process to plan next year’s exercises and investments.

Clearer Requirements Increase the Need for Training

On 1 October 2026, new regulations under Sweden’s Cybersecurity Act came into effect. They specify requirements for security measures and management training, as well as security audits and security scans.

For organisations covered by the regulations, it is becoming even more important to demonstrate that cybersecurity measures work in practice, rather than simply showing that they are documented.

Checklist: 7 Things to Review Now

1. Stress-test your incident response plan. Simulate an incident and verify responsibilities, communication channels and escalation procedures.
2. Test the entire response chain. Practise decision-making and information flows from the helpdesk to crisis management.
3. Review access rights. Check privileged accounts, exposed passwords and user permissions.
4. Follow up with suppliers. Ensure security requirements are met and conduct exercises with critical partners.
5. Identify gaps. Verify that procedures are followed and effective working practices are documented.
6. Create an annual training plan. Schedule recurring training sessions, exercises and technical tests.
7. Plan next year’s activities. Link identified weaknesses to budgets, investments and corrective actions.

From Documentation to Real-World Capabilities

Cybersecurity is not just about technology and policies. It is about building an organisation that knows what to do when an incident occurs.

Start small, practise regularly and involve both management and suppliers. That is how you move from plans on paper to capabilities that stand up when it matters most.