Insider Threat and Social Engineering Training
Practical training that makes your workforce harder to manipulate. Staff learn how insider risk and social engineering work, how to spot an approach face to face, by phone or online, and how to check and report it without creating a culture of suspicion. Half day, full day or two day options, in person or online, tailored to your organisation.
Course Overview
Most security breaches involve people. Someone holds a door, answers a question that seemed harmless, trusts a caller who sounds senior, or uses access they should not have. Insider risk can be malicious, but it is just as often careless or the result of someone being manipulated.
This course deals with the human side of security. It explains how social engineers use trust, authority, urgency and helpfulness to get people to step outside normal procedure, and how physical, phone and online approaches are combined. It is not an IT course. It complements your cyber training by covering the people, places and conversations that technical controls cannot reach.
Every programme starts with a short scoping call, free of charge, so the examples and scenarios reflect your workforce, visitors, suppliers and procedures without you having to share sensitive information.
Choose the level that fits the role.
- Half day awareness (about 3.5 hours): for all staff. How insider risk and social engineering work, the signs of a suspicious approach, tailgating, impersonation, phishing and vishing, and how to verify and report.
- Full day enhanced practitioner: for managers, HR, security and people in sensitive roles. Threat methods in depth, the psychology of manipulation, hostile reconnaissance, insider risk indicators, professional challenge and a progressive scenario exercise with a facilitated debrief and assessment.
- Two day insider risk programme: for security, HR and risk leads who need to build or run an insider risk programme. It covers role based risk assessment, pre employment screening, ongoing personnel security, joiners, movers and leavers, handling and investigating concerns lawfully and proportionately, policy and governance, all in line with NPSA guidance, and finishes with a tabletop exercise and an action plan for your organisation.
All prices are for a group of up to 12 people, not per person.
Both levels use a simple framework that staff remember: Stop, Check, Verify, Report.
About the Trainer
The course is delivered by the 1705 Consultancy team and associates, bringing together backgrounds in policing, investigations, protective security, behavioural awareness and risk management. Led by a former Essex Police Detective Inspector with 23 years’ service, we focus on what staff can actually do in their everyday conversations with colleagues, contractors, visitors and suppliers.
Frequently Asked Questions
The half day gives all staff the awareness to recognise an approach, verify a request and report it. The full day is for managers, HR, security and people in sensitive roles, and goes deeper into threat methods, manipulation, insider risk indicators and professional challenge, finishing with a scenario exercise and assessment. The two day course is for the leads who build and run an insider risk programme.
Security, HR and risk leads who are responsible for managing insider risk across an organisation. It covers role based risk assessment, screening, ongoing personnel security, joiners, movers and leavers, handling concerns, policy and governance, in line with NPSA guidance, and ends with a tabletop exercise and an action plan you can take away.
Not in the technical sense. It covers phishing and vishing, but it is about people: how manipulation works face to face, by phone and online, and how physical and digital approaches are combined. It complements your cyber training rather than replacing it.
Yes. Both levels can be delivered in person at your premises or live online with a trainer. The scenario exercise in the full day works best in person, but can be run online.
No. The course is built on behaviour, not appearance, and on proportionate responses. The aim is a confident security culture where people verify and report without accusing anyone.
Yes. We hold a short scoping call before delivery, free of charge, so the examples and scenarios fit your workforce, visitors, suppliers and procedures without you needing to share sensitive information.
Prices are per group of up to 12, not per person: half day £1,250 + VAT, full day £1,950 + VAT, 2 day insider risk programme £3,500 + VAT. Repeat deliveries are discounted. Includes travel in Essex and the surrounding counties. Travel elsewhere in the UK is quoted separately.
What Your Staff Will Learn
- What insider risk is, whether malicious, careless or manipulated
- How social engineering works: trust, authority, urgency and helpfulness
- How to recognise suspicious approaches in person, by phone and online
- Tailgating, impersonation, phishing, vishing and elicitation
- How to check and verify a request before acting on it
- How to record and report a concern, and why a good security culture matters
Who Is This Course For?
- All staff in organisations that hold valuable assets, data or access
- Reception, front of house and customer service teams
- Finance, payroll and administration teams
- HR and line managers
- Security, HR and risk leads responsible for insider risk
- Security officers, control room and facilities teams
- Staff in high value, financial, logistics and retail businesses
- Schools, charities and public sector organisations
- Duration Half day, full day or 2 days
- Level Awareness, enhanced practitioner or programme lead
- Delivery In person or online, UK wide
- Scoping Free tailoring call before delivery
- Price From £1,250 + VAT per group of up to 12
- Certificate Digital certificate
Upcoming course dates
No open dates are scheduled right now. We also run this course on site for teams.
Ask about dates
Ready to book?
Tell us how many people need training and where, and we will come back to you within one working day with dates and a price.