6 July Post

Building Cyber Champions: Why Every Department Needs a Security Advocate

For many organisations, cybersecurity still sits within the IT department.
When employees have a security question, they contact IT.
When a phishing email arrives, they forward it to IT.
When a cyber incident occurs, everyone expects IT to fix it.
This mindset creates a significant problem.
Cybersecurity is no longer simply an IT function.
It is an organisational capability.
The most resilient organisations recognise that cyber vigilance cannot be delivered by one department alone. It must be embedded throughout the business, with people at every level understanding their role in protecting the organisation.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by building a network of Cyber Champions.
What is a Cyber Champion?
A Cyber Champion is not another IT support person.
They are not expected to investigate cyber incidents, configure security systems or become cybersecurity experts.
Instead, they act as a trusted advocate for cyber resilience within their own team.
Cyber Champions help connect organisational security objectives with everyday business activities.
They encourage conversations.
Promote good security practices.
Support colleagues.
Provide feedback.
Identify emerging risks.
Most importantly, they help make cybersecurity part of everyday work rather than something that only appears during annual awareness training.
Why Every Department Needs One
Cyber risks exist across every part of an organisation.
Finance teams face invoice fraud and business email compromise.
Human Resources manages highly sensitive employee information and is increasingly exposed to AI-generated recruitment fraud.
Marketing teams use AI tools to create content while managing brand reputation and social media risks.
Operations teams rely on business systems that support day-to-day service delivery.
Customer service teams regularly verify identities and manage personal information.
Legal teams oversee contracts, privacy obligations and intellectual property.
Every department faces different risks.
A Cyber Champion understands how cyber and AI risks affect their own team and helps translate organisational policies into practical behaviours.
Creating a Human Firewall
The phrase "human firewall" is often used in cybersecurity.
While it conveys an important message, people are much more than a barrier between attackers and systems.
People are decision-makers.
Problem-solvers.
Communicators.
Leaders.
Cyber Champions help create an environment where secure decision-making becomes a normal part of everyday business.
They encourage colleagues to ask questions before sharing sensitive information.
They promote responsible AI use.
They reinforce good cyber habits.
Over time, these small conversations help create lasting behavioural change.
Bridging the Gap Between IT and the Business
One of the biggest challenges facing many organisations is communication.
Security teams often understand technical risks.
Business teams understand operational priorities.
Cyber Champions help bridge the gap.
Because they work within the business, they understand both the pressures their colleagues face and the importance of protecting organisational information.
They help explain security requirements in language that makes sense to their team.
Equally important, they provide valuable feedback to security and leadership teams about practical challenges, emerging concerns and opportunities for improvement.
This two-way communication strengthens governance and supports continuous improvement.
Cyber Champions and AI Governance
Artificial Intelligence has introduced a new dimension to organisational risk.
Employees increasingly use AI tools to:

• Draft emails
• Summarise reports
• Analyse information
• Generate presentations
• Write software code
• Improve productivity

These technologies create enormous opportunities.
They also create new governance challenges.
Cyber Champions can play an important role in helping colleagues understand:

• Which AI tools are approved.
• What information should never be entered into public AI platforms.
• How to verify AI-generated outputs.
• Ethical considerations when using AI.
• Organisational AI policies and expectations.

As AI adoption accelerates, Cyber Champions become valuable advocates for responsible AI use.
What Makes a Great Cyber Champion?
The best Cyber Champions are not necessarily the most technical people.
They are people who are:

• Trusted by their colleagues.
• Good communicators.
• Curious and willing to learn.
• Positive role models.
• Influential within their teams.
• Passionate about helping others.

They encourage conversations rather than enforce rules.
They build confidence rather than fear.
They create engagement rather than compliance.
Supporting Your Cyber Champions
Simply appointing Cyber Champions is not enough.
Organisations should provide them with:

• Regular updates on emerging threats.
• AI governance guidance.
• Practical discussion topics for team meetings.
• Access to security specialists when needed.
• Opportunities to share ideas with other Champions.
• Recognition for their contribution.

When Cyber Champions feel supported, they become powerful advocates for organisational resilience.
The Board's Role
Boards and executive leaders have an important role in ensuring Cyber Champion programmes succeed.
They should ask:

• Do we have Cyber Champions across the organisation?
• Are they supported by leadership?
• How do we measure their impact?
• Are they helping improve our cyber culture?
• Are they promoting responsible AI use?

Cyber Champion programmes should not be viewed as another awareness initiative.
They are a leadership investment.
They strengthen organisational culture, improve communication and increase resilience.
Measuring Success
Success should not be measured by the number of Cyber Champions appointed.
Instead, organisations should ask:

• Are employees reporting suspicious activity sooner?
• Has confidence in identifying cyber threats improved?
• Are departments discussing cyber and AI risks more regularly?
• Are security behaviours improving?
• Are AI tools being used more responsibly?
• Has collaboration between business teams and security improved?

These indicators provide a much better picture of organisational resilience than attendance records or training completion rates.
Every Organisation Can Benefit
You do not need thousands of employees to build a Cyber Champion programme.
For a small business, the owner or a senior team member may naturally become the Cyber Champion.
Medium-sized organisations may appoint one Champion for each department.
Larger organisations may build networks of Champions across offices, regions and business units.
The model is flexible because every organisation is different.
The principle remains the same.
Cyber resilience is strongest when responsibility is shared.
Turning Awareness into Action
Technology will continue to evolve.
Artificial Intelligence will continue to reshape the workplace.
Cyber threats will continue to become more sophisticated.
The organisations that succeed will not simply invest in better technology.
They will invest in better conversations.
Cyber Champions create those conversations.
They turn policies into behaviours.
Awareness into action.
Compliance into culture.
And colleagues into confident advocates for organisational resilience.
Building a network of Cyber Champions is not simply another cybersecurity initiative.
It is one of the most effective ways an organisation can embed cyber vigilance, strengthen AI governance and build a resilient culture that protects the business long into the future.